On October 27th, in honor of the bicentennial celebration of the Harvard Law School, HIRC led a conversation on gender asylum titled “Women Refugees And Why Law Matters.” The session, which was organized and moderated by HIRC’s Sabi Ardalan (HLS’02), brought together a diverse group of speakers who offered unique perspectives on the state of immigration law.
HIRC founder and director Deborah Anker (HLS ’84) started off the discussion, along with Nancy Kelly, co-director of HIRC at Greater Boston Legal Services. They provided a brief history of gender asylum law and the critical role HIRC played in developing this jurisprudence.
“Through direct representation, our clinic, along with others, has helped shape the thinking of decision-makers, changed the culture of legal institutions, and put pressure on higher level decision-makers,” said Anker, to a full room of HLS students and alumni.
Many of the speakers focused on the challenges immigrants face in the legal system. The Honorable Norman H. Stahl (HLS ‘55) spoke about his experience as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Marina Basseas (HLS ‘14), an asylum officer with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), detailed the backlog of 20,000 cases that USCIS is facing and how that affects those who are waiting to be granted asylum. Elizabeth Nehrling Sotiriou, from the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition, spoke about the challenges facing children who are detained at the U.S./Mexico border, and Julina Guo (HLS ‘15), from the New York City Commission on Human Rights, shared her experience working with survivors of sex trafficking.
During the discussion, panelists highlighted the specific hurdles women face in the asylum process. Sussan Lee (HLS ‘15), who works in Queens, New York, spoke about the challenges many Asian women face because of their lack of legal work authorization. Fatma E. Marouf (HLS ‘02), Director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic at Texas A&M School of Law, underscored the difficulties for women asylum seekers who are in abusive relationships.
A number of former clients from HIRC offered moving testimony about the importance of asylum. Idiatou Balde, Jane Mallei, Uzra Azizi, and Suyapa Perez come from different countries from across the globe but they all have one thing in common – they remain active in their communities and are dedicated to helping other in need, whether that be volunteering on pro-bono cases or running a clothing drive.
This discussion also served as a call to action. Panelist Mark Fleming (HLS ’94) urged other lawyers to take on pro-bono cases, as he has done, and help clients navigate the complex legal system that new immigrants face upon arrival in the United States.