St. Thomas Law Hosts Emergency Clinic to Assist Central American Teenagers Seeking Asylum

 In late July, even before classes started, Professor Lauren Gilbert received an urgent email from Kristie Padron, a supervisor at Catholic Legal Services, asking that St. Thomas Law host another pro se clinic on behalf of Central American asylum seekers from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The email text read:

         

I am reaching out, because unfortunately, we have received information from many sources that DHS will soon re-designate Unaccompanied Minors who reach their 18th birthday, as adults. If that happens many girls and boys will lose their chance to present their asylum cases at the asylum office, in a non-adversarial setting. If re-designated as adults, they would have to present defensive asylum claims in Immigration Court, without an attorney.

We are helping many teenagers fill out their I-589 forms in order to send them to the Nebraska service center, and preserve their right to go to the asylum office first. Unfortunately, the need for services is higher than our capacity to provide them.

I would like to ask for your help with coordinating an emergency asylum workshop at STU. These are exceptional times and CCLS attorneys will volunteer to supervise if we can organize this event. Carolina Acosta Fox, STU law student has been a great contribution to CCLS over the summer as an intern, and she is willing to help if you think we can coordinate the emergency workshop.

I am sorry for such short notice, but I am reaching out to you because the prior workshops organized at STU, with your invaluable help, have been very effective. The quality of the applications has been outstanding, and many pro-se asylum seekers have been granted asylum.

Professor Gilbert agreed, and, with the support of the St. Thomas Law administration and a team of students, kicked into gear. Diego Sanchez and Andrea Valencia, President and Secretary respectively, of the St.Thomasm Law Student Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA),  played critical roles in recruiting students to participate,  and in organizing and overseeing the event. Carolina Acosta-Fox, who had been interning at Catholic Legal Services over the summer, helped pull together files for those teenagers in most urgent need of services.

The Clinic took place on October 30, with overwhelming participation by law students, who received pro bono credit, and several alumni. The Clinic was scheduled for September, but had to be reset due to Hurricane Irma, since many of the teenagers scheduled to attend were from the Naples/Immokalee area which had been hardest hit. 

 When several Central American kids did not make it to their appointment, Diego Sanchez, President of AILA’s student chapter, showed great leadership in quickly reconfiguring the teams so that every student participated in a meaningful way. After a crash course in preparing I-589 applications by Catholic Legal Services attorneys, the students divided into teams. Most of the teams worked with the teenagers in drafting their asylum petitions. Other teams worked with family members in preparing supporting affidavits. Another team worked on translations of birth certificates and motions to administratively close proceedings before the Immigration Judges. 

"Command Central" -  Law student volunteers

 It was a rewarding experience for all and reconfirmed that St. Thomas Law has some of the best and the brightest, true leaders for life. Special thanks to the law library staff for allowing students to use the law library study rooms as offices and the updated computer classroom as Command Central.

Professor Roy Balleste Travels to Dubai to Speak at UN Forum on Space

St.Thomas Law Professor Roy Balleste recently spoke at the United Nations Forum on Space. The four-day United Nations/United Arab Emirates event was held in Dubai from November 6 – 9. The UN sought his input regarding the connection of cyberspace and satellite communications. In particular, the perils associated with the utilization of cyberspace as a weapon.

Professor Balleste Delivers Presentation: Thor's Hammer

Professor Balleste was the only academic from the United States that received an invitation. The other U.S-based representatives included a member of NASA, one from the US State Department, and a Washington D.C. based engineer.

The high-level forum was hosted by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs in conjunction with the United Arab Emirates Space Agency and aimed to "build stronger partnerships and international cooperation and coordination in the peaceful uses of outer space at all levels."

St. Thomas Law LL.M. Alumnus Working to Advance Anti-Trafficking Efforts in Colombia

Sergio A. Marin, a graduate of St.Thomas Law's  LL.M./J.S.D. in Intercultural Human Rights program, played a major role in the drafting process of a decree for the creation and regulation of the Committee for the Fight Against Trafficking in Persons for the City of Floridablanca, second most populated city in the Department of Santander, Colombia.

Under the auspices of the Mayor of Floridablanca, the Secretary of the Government of Santander, and the local branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the document (Decree No. 0227/2017) is a major stepping stone toward reducing and preventing the crime of trafficking in persons in Santander.

Sergio A. Marin, LL.M. IHR’15, and Marcela Loaiza, survivor of human trafficking; Rocío Uron, UNODC Project Leader, Ricardo Sorzano, Secretary of the Government of Santander, and Héctor Mantilla, Mayor of Floridablanca

For Sergio, the opportunity to work on the creation of the committee was a humbling experience and a great achievement. Sergio is currently working with the Internal Oversight Office in the City of Bucaramanga, Santander’s capital city. His next task entails the drafting of a new bill to help address the problem of child abduction in his region and he intends to add components of human trafficking to the bill.

Sergio, who earned his LL.M degree in Intercultural Human Rights and graduated with honors in 2015, expressed his deepest appreciation to the program for its academic quality and practical usefulness, which has been invaluable in his efforts to create positive change in his community.

St. Thomas Law Celebrates its Charter Class with Reunion Dinner

We were thrilled to welcome members of the St. Thomas Law Charter Class back to campus on November 3, 2017.

The reunion dinner, hosted by the Office of Alumni Affairs, was a unique opportunity for the first group of St. Thomas Law graduates to reconnect and reminisce.

Members of the St. Thomas Law Charter Class

St. Thomas Law students, staff, and administrators

St. Thomas Law's Human Trafficking Academy Receives $2.5 Million Gift

St. Thomas Law and its highly-acclaimed Human Trafficking Academy just became the beneficiary of a $2.5 million gift, generously donated by Mr. John Brunetti, Chairman of the Hialeah Park Racing & Casino.

Mr. John Brunetti (center) presenting $2.5 million check to St. Thomas Law’s 

Human Trafficking Academy

Professor Roza Pati, who has been working on the issue of human trafficking since the early 1990s described the multi-million dollar gift as a blessing that will help the academy accomplish countless desired goals, enhance the Academy’s presence throughout the State, and nurture its agility and profoundness. 

"The ultimate beneficiary will be communities aspiring to be free of slave labor, products and services [and] survivors, whose lives we will help put back together," stated Professor Pati. "Our work will assist human trafficking victims regain and own back their lives."

The Academy's reach will simultaneously empower Florida’s human resources, whose mission is to condemn and bring to justice those who appropriate people’s legal personality, their free will, labor and sweat. 

"We are proud and humbled to be the recipient of this generous gift," stated Dean Alfredo Garcia. "Our unstinting efforts, through the work of Professor Pati and our faculty, staff, and alumni, to eradicate the scourge of human trafficking will be enhanced."

The Academy will also continue its cooperation with federal agencies that combat human trafficking, and with the State Attorneys’ offices, the private sector and civil society in order to expand synergies and take advantage of available resources to better understand the physiognomy and trends of human trafficking as well as the needs of national and foreign victims.

Founded and directed by Professor Roza Pati, the Human Trafficking Academy was established in 2010 with the support of a grant by the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. A pioneer of its kind, the Academy is home to a variety of multi-disciplinary anti-trafficking initiatives that includes conferences, symposia, trainings, presentations, workshops, research and publications. Its impact crosses national borders.