Immigration Appellate Practice Clinic

The U.S. Court of Appeals is the largest federal circuit and also has the largest number of immigration cases, in which the Court reviews removal, or deportation, orders. For petitioners for review who do not have counsel, the Court may appoint counsel. Over the past fifteen years, the Court has appointed Santa Clara Law to represent the petitioner in many cases.

In the Immigration Appellate Practice Clinic, law student practitioners represent the client under the supervision of a clinical professor. The students consult with the client, review the administrative record, research the case, write the appellate briefs, and present oral argument before the Court. They also investigate the case for any other avenues of relief. Their work truly changes the lives of their clients.

The Immigration Appellate Practice Clinic will present oral argument before the Ninth Circuit in four cases in October 2020.

For more information about the Immigration Appellate Practice Clinic, contact Prof. Abriel, eabriel@scu.edu.

Read about Immigration Appellate Practice Clinic students serving clients during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Links to a sampling of oral arguments by Santa Clara Law students:

• Vega-Alvarado v. Holder (Student Practitioner Christina Fialho)
• Blandino-Medina v. Holder (Student Practitioners Amy VyHanh Nguyen and Mady Feldon)

Representative precedent and non-precedent decisions in cases in which Santa Clara Law represented the petitioner:

Nava-Romero v. Sessions, 736 Fed. App’x 632 (9th Cir. 2018)

Alvarado-Garcia v. Lynch, 665 Fed. App’x 620 (9th Cir. 2016)

Blandino-Medina v. Holder, 712 F.3d 1338 (9th Cir. 2013).

Yaogang Ren v. Holder, 648 F.3d 1079 (9th Cir. 2011)

Vizcarra-Ayala v. Mukasey, 514 F.3d 870 (9th Cir. 2008)