Immigration Law 2020 - Representing Children, Families, and Detained Individuals
Co-sponsored by the Colorado Bar Association Immigration Law Section
COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges for immigrant communities and individuals in immigration proceedings. The need for legal representation is now greater than ever. Build your skills for defending and advancing the rights of non-citizens in the current environment. During the morning, the program will focus on zealous immigration advocacy, asylum, and practice before immigration courts and agencies in the time of COVID-19. Then participants can choose from two tracks that will dive into immigration enforcement and detention and bond practices, plus the intersection of immigration law and criminal law; or protections for immigrant crime victims and special immigrant juvenile status. The day will conclude with a mock immigration court hearing.
- Defend and advance the rights of non-citizens
- Serve the community by taking a pro-bono case
- Choose from a variety of helpful sessions
The Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) is a nonprofit organization that provides free immigration legal services to children and families, and to individuals in immigration detention. RMIAN provides daily know-your-rights presentations, individual intakes, pro se assistance, and legal representation for those detained at the federal immigration detention facility in Aurora. RMIAN’s Children’s Program represents children and families who have survived abandonment, abuse, persecution, or other violence.
9:00 – 9:05 am
Welcome, Introductions, and Overview
Presented by Mekela Goehring, Esq., Executive Director, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, Program Planner and Chair
9:05 – 10:00 am
Setting the Landscape: The ABCs of Zealous Immigration Advocacy
- Introduction to immigration proceedings
- Overview of the immigration agencies and courts
- Overview of ways to win immigration status for your client
- Appellate review
Presented by Laura Lichter, Esq., Lichter Immigration, and Laura Lunn, Esq., Managing Attorney, Detention Program
10:00 – 10:50 am
Practice Before the Immigration Courts and Agencies in the Time of COVID-19
- Representing clients on the detained docket
- Best practices for immigration court hearings, both telephonic and in-person
- Preparing your clients and witnesses, and building a record
- Best practices for working with USCIS
- Updates on current practices from the immigration courts and immigration agencies
Presented by Sabrina Sameshima, Esq., Staff Attorney, Children’s Program, Tilman Jacobs, Esq., Staff Attorney, Detention Program, and Laura Shoaps, Esq., Attorney Fellow, Detention Program
10:50 – 11:00 am
Break
11:00 – 12:00 pm
Asylum Law 101
- An overview of asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture
- How to prepare and present a winning case
- Special considerations
Presented by Sarah Plastino, Esq., Senior Staff Attorney, Detention Program
12:00 – 1:00 pm
Lunch Break
1:00 – 1:10 pm
Overview of RMIAN’s Pro Bono Program and Process and Introduction to Two Tracks
Presented by Colleen Cowgill, Esq., Pro Bono Coordinating Attorney, Detention Program
TRACK A
1:10 – 2:00 pm
How Do I Get Out? Fighting Your Case for Freedom
- Overview of options for release from immigration detention while fighting an immigration case
- Presenting a bond matter before the immigration court
- Nuts and bolts of requesting parole from DHS
- Detention conditions & COVID-19: current developments in Fraihat v. ICE
- When all else fails: Habeas corpus - the "great writ"
Presented by Mark Barr, Esq., Lichter Immigration, and Charles Vernon, Esq., Senior Staff Attorney, Detention Program
2:05 – 2:55 pm
Crimmigration: The Intersection of Immigration Law and Criminal Law
- Crime-based immigration grounds of inadmissibility and removability
- The Categorical Approach: How to conduct the legal analysis to understand the immigration consequences of criminal convictions (or avoid them)
- How to partner with criminal defense counsel on criminal cases to protect clients
Presented by Hans Meyer, Esq., The Meyer Law Office, PC
TRACK B
1:10 – 2:00 pm
Legal Protections for Immigrant Crime Victims
- U Visas for immigrant crime victims
- T Visas for victims of human trafficking
- Protections under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
- Best practices for responding to new adjudication challenges
Presented by Emily Brock, Esq., Senior Staff Attorney, Children’s Program, Patricia Medige, Esq., Colorado Legal Services, and Georgina Olazcon Mozo, Esq., Staff Attorney, Children’s Program
2:05 – 2:55 pm
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS): A Pathway to Protection for Abused, Neglected, and Abandoned Children
- Eligibility requirements, including recent updates in Colorado
- Obtaining the SIJS order in State court through guardianship and custody
- Filing for SIJS and permanent residency
- Representation in removal proceedings for children pursuing SIJS
- Practice pointers relevant to SIJS cases
Presented by Kathleen M. (Katie) Glynn, Esq., Grob and Eirich, LLC, and Ashley Harrington, Esq., Managing Attorney, Children’s Program
3:10 – 4:10 pm
Model Immigration Hearing
- Observe a team of experienced immigration attorneys conduct a master calendar hearing and portions of a merits hearing for an individual applying for asylum
- The model hearing will be followed by a Q&A session about immigration court practice and a discussion and evaluation of what worked well and what could have been improved during the hearings
Presented by Courtney Butler, Esq., Elkind Alterman Harston PC, Jennifer Casey, Esq., Kolko & Casey, P.C., Aaron Hall, Esq., Joseph & Hall P.C., and Megan Hope, MSW, Social Service Project Director/Board of Immigration Appeals Accredited Representative
4:10 pm
Adjourn
4:10 – 5:00 pm
Virtual Networking Reception – Sponsored by the CBA Immigration Law Section
Registration Fees
| Non Member | $469.00 |
| CBA Member | $369.00 |
| CBA Immigration Law Section Member | $319.00 |
| Paralegal or Legal Support Staff | $279.00 |
| Yes! I want to take a Pro Bono Case in the coming year | $75.00 |
| Yes! I want to take a Pro Bono Case in the coming year | $75.00 |
| CLEACCESSPASS---ELITE Pass Holder | $0.00 |
| New Lawyer Edge Partner | $0.00 |
- General Credits: 7.00
- Ethics Credits:
- EDI Credits:
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Sponsor Information
- Defend and advance the rights of non-citizens
- Serve the community by taking a pro-bono case
- Choose from a variety of helpful sessions
- Watch a mock immigration court hearing