2009 Immigration Law Clinic Celebrates Annual Reception

The UW Immigration Law Clinic’s annual reception – celebrating the 2008-2009 clinic year – was a great success. Judge Betty Binns Fletcher of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals was the keynote speaker for the event, which was hosted by K&L Gates and sponsored by Gibbs Houston Pauw and Costello & Black. Judge Fletcher called the plight of immigrants “among the most tragic in our society” and applauded the work of the clinic in training future attorneys to work at the trial level, where cases are most often lost due to lack of (or poor) representation. As Judge Fletcher pointed out, only about 35 percent of immigrants are represented in deportation proceedings. Those represented are three to four times more likely to win their cases. Judge Fletcher noted she had urged the law school’s leadership not to cut the Immigration Law Clinic, as immigration cases make up 40 percent of the Ninth Circuit’s docket. She encouraged everyone to work for a better America, to combat the “cruelty, callous indifference and mistreatment of our immigrant population.”

Robert Gibbs introduced Judge Fletcher, praising her support for the Immigration Law Clinic and longtime commitment to reasoned, humane, and thorough review of immigration cases. Signe Dortch, clinic director, noted that the February immigration raid in Bellingham made headlines, but reminded attendees of the growing need for representation that has long gone unnoticed. She described how the clinic puts legs on students who have great minds, but not yet firm footing in the courtroom, and recognized clinic successes and the clients in attendance. Rosario Daza, 2008 clinic alumna, shared how each victory changes not only clients’ lives, but the lives of the students who represent them. She urged everyone to continue supporting and donating to the clinic.

Washington State Supreme Court Justice Richard B. Sanders attended the event. Lourdes Fuentes and Amy Kratz, past Immigration Law Clinic directors, and Debbie Maranville, director of the Clinical Law Program at the UW law school, joined in the celebration as well.

Attendees exceeded a $2,500 matching challenge lodged by several clinic supporters, contributing $3,500 for the clinic at the event.