Law Links - February 2017
Lending our voice to immigration issues
"We are a community devoted to learning and the free exchange of ideas. In pursuit of that mission, we not only welcome, but affirmatively invite students, faculty, and visiting speakers and scholars from all over the world to join us in the pursuit of knowledge and mutual understanding. Our international students, in particular, are highly valued members of our community; their participation in the life of the law school enriches our classes, multiplies our learning, and helps build bridges of peace and goodwill across the globe from which all ultimately profit." - Interim Dean James A. Gardner
Faculty Voices
Assistant Clinical Professor Nicole Hallett
Assistant Clinical Professor Nicole Hallett,
Director of the Community Justice Clinic
Feb. 09, 2017 - The Buffalo News
Hallett's op-ed on the City of Buffalo's obligation to protect its immigrant residents.
Feb. 04, 2017 - The Buffalo News
Hallett addresses President Trump’s executive order banning travel into the United States from seven Muslim majority nations. “It’s a very confusing order, and it’s made a lot of people really nervous and anxious.”
Feb. 03, 2017 - Time Warner Cable News
Hallett speaks to recent executive orders on immigration and the impact on UB’s international students. "Come spring break, come summer break, I think there are going to be a lot more students who are affected and who have to be making really hard decisions about whether they stay in the country...or whether they go home with the understanding that they won't be able to return."
Professor Rick Su
Professor Rick Su
Feb. 03, 2017 - The Atlantic
Su discusses the text of President Trump's executive orders calling for the construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and a crackdown on “sanctuary cities.” “[There was] a lot of bluster and talk about penalizing sanctuary cities, but for all the extreme positions, the order recognized that the president’s power is arguably quite limited.”
Jan. 29, 2017 - WBFO-FM
Su identifies conflict between the restrictions in the executive orders on immigration and the First Amendment barring government action on religion. "...if this does become normalized in all sorts of policymaking, whether it's immigration or in national security or in policing or everything else, ...designating certain religions is going to be permissible."
Our Community Responds
Law students participate in the "Know Your Rights" town hall.
Assistant Clinical Professor Nicole Hallett and law librarian Theodora (Theo) Belniak '10 along with close to twenty law students and several alumni volunteered at the "Know Your Rights for Immigrants & Refugees" open house held at Jericho Road Community Health Center in Buffalo on Saturday, February 4. Participants answered questions about immigration, provided information and referrals, conducted intake interviews and even translated for the over 500 local immigrants and refugees seeking assistance with family, housing and other legal issues.
Prior to the open house, Shelby S. Maroselli '15 and Gayle T. Murphy '86 of the Erie County Bar Association's Volunteer Lawyers Project, provided training for law students and faculty members to assist them in providing limited-scope pro bono legal assistance to immigrants and refugees. These new skills were used at the “Know Your Rights” session and at other local pro bono efforts provided by organizations including the Federal Court Pro Se Assistance Program, the Erie County Family Court Help Desk, Attorney of the Morning in Buffalo City Housing Court and the Say Yes Legal Clinics in the Buffalo Public Schools.
Press Coverage
Feb. 4, 2017 - WIVB
Know your rights: Immigrants and refugees seek free legal advice
Feb. 04, 2017 - The Buffalo News
Refugees and immigrants reminded of legal rights at Buffalo event
SUNY, UB Responds
Jan. 29, 2017 - Statement by SUNY Board Chairman H. Carl McCall and Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher on Federal Immigration Policy Changes
Jan. 28, 2017 - Statement by UB President Satish K. Tripathi regarding the executive order suspending entry to the U.S. by citizens of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen