Claire Brown

The Project

Claire (she/her/ella) focused on providing appellate representation to detained indigent immigrants in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.

Although being ordered removed from the United States is arguably the most disruptive event in an immigrant and their family’s lives, many immigrants go through the removal process without having an attorney and without truly understanding their rights and options. Once individuals lose their case in immigration court, their last opportunity to challenge their removal is to appeal, but they have very few options for finding counsel to represent them on appeal, especially if they are indigent and detained.

Claire’s Fellowship aimed to address this lack of resources and representation for individuals in immigration detention who want to appeal their cases and help increase fairness in the removal proceeding process.

Fellowship Highlights

During the two-year Fellowship, Claire:

• Won two asylum cases for detained LGBT individuals from Honduras and Jamaica
• Won a Convention Against Torture case for a detained individual from El Salvador
• Represented 12 detained individuals in various stages of their immigration proceedings
• Filed seven appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals
• Provided brief services, referrals, and legal advice to over 150 individuals at weekly removal defense legal clinics

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