Jessica Jones
Host: Women's Refugee Commission/Detention and Asylum Program
Sponsor: Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Carmen expanded access to justice for vulnerable immigrant populations, including immigrants with mental disabilities, unaccompanied minors, and detained asylum seekers, through direct legal representation, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and monitoring of detention facility conditions.
Without legal representation and adequate language assistance, many asylum seekers cannot effectively present their claims for relief. Most do not understand the complexities of immigration law or have sufficient command of the English language. Too many are detained for extended periods—months or even years—without any progress on their asylum petition. The problems facing detained asylum seekers are particularly acute in Southern California. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has dramatically expanded detention facilities in the region. All of the Southern California facilities resemble jails or actually are jails. The placement of asylum seekers in such punitive environments often re-traumatizes those who fled imprisonment or violence in their home country. Legal service providers have not had the resources to provide much, if any, assistance in the expanded facilities, and the few legal materials available are generally only in English.
During her Fellowship, Carmen:
Carmen continues to work for her host organization, ACLU of Southern California. She is working to expand the right to counsel to other vulnerable groups in their immigration proceedings, and protect the rights of detained asylum seekers.
I want to change the all-but-certain likelihood of getting lost in the complexities of the immigration system to allow for the possibility of real justice.
Carmen Iguina /
Equal Justice Works Fellow
Host: Women's Refugee Commission/Detention and Asylum Program
Sponsor: Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Host: Asian Law Caucus
Sponsor: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Host: Immigrant Defense Project
Sponsor: Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Host: Orleans Public Defenders
Sponsor: ALM