The Community HeLP clinic successfully obtained humanitarian parole for three clients in February. One case involved a client deported shortly after she experienced medical abuse in a Georgia detention center and tried to complain about her treatment. Another involved a child stranded in Jamaica when her mother died just before a visa petition filed by…
Following extensive advocacy by coalition including Community HeLP, U.S. Labor Secretary authorizes OSHA to issue U and T visa certifications, protecting noncitizen workers.
Community HeLP applauds the Department of Labor’s decision to delegate authority to OSHA to issue T and U Visa certifications for noncitizens subject to trafficking or other workplace crimes. Along with Sur Legal and many others, Community HeLP engaged in extensive efforts to bring about this development, including oral and written guidance provided by Clinic…
Court allows additional noncitizen clients of UGA law clinics to join medical-abuse-in-detention lawsuit; separate Senate investigative subcommittee makes key findings
On November 28, 2022, United States District Court Judge W. Louis Sands granted a contested motion filed by the First Amendment Clinic, the Community HeLP Clinic, and co-counsel to add two additional named plaintiffs to Oldaker v. Giles, a putative class action currently pending in the Middle District of Georgia. The lawsuit seeks redress for women who were subjected…
Community HeLP Clinic negotiates immigration benefits for gas leak survivors
The Community Health Law Partnership Clinic has successfully negotiated for immigration benefits, including deferred action and employment authorization, from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for noncitizen workers who survived gas leaks while employed at a poultry processing plant. The clinic’s representation has included facilitating Department of Labor witness testimony as part of federal investigations into these matters, which…
Providing health services to Athens families; CCSD and UGA partner to launch the Clarke Middle Health Center
The Clarke Middle Health Center celebrated its grand opening on Thursday, Nov. 10, introducing the Athens-Clarke County community to the many free medical, mental health and legal services provided to students, staff and families. Through a collaboration between the Clarke County School District and the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership’s Athens Free Clinic, the health…
Community HeLP Clinic secures path for client’s asylum
The Community Health Law Partnership Clinic has secured a major victory for an asylum seeker after seven years of advocacy. The client was put into removal proceedings in 2015 after seeking refuge in the United States from violence in Guatemala. After her claim was denied by the Immigration Court and Board of Immigration Appeals, the Community HeLP Clinic…
Sur Legal, Community HeLP, and Others Provide Recommendations to U.S. Dept. of Labor Regarding Delegation of U and T Visa Certifying Authority to O.S.H.A.
On Sept. 19, 2022, a coalition of immigrant-advocates, workers-rights organizations, and law school clinics submitted a letter detailing recommendations to Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh as he considers delegating U and T visa certification authority to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. U visas protect noncitizen survivors of serious crime who are helpful…
Community HeLP Clinic client wins asylum
A Community Health Law Partnership Clinic client was recently granted asylum. The clinic’s client fled to the United States alone as a 16-year-old after facing death threats and physical violence in Guatemala, requesting asylum at the border. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Asylum Office interviewed the client in 2018 but his status remained in limbo. In 2022, the…
Community HeLP Clinic benefits more than 200 individuals
Since its establishment in 2013, the Community Health Law Partnership Clinic has aided more than 200 individuals. The initiative, directed by Associate Dean Jason A. Cade and serviced by law students, takes an interdisciplinary approach to immigrants’ rights through individual client representation, litigation and project-based advocacy before administrative agencies and federal courts. Last year, the Community HeLP Clinic won the…
School of Law clinics team up to keep immigrant family together
With the help of two School of Law clinics and seven-plus years of advocacy, an immigrant grandmother has gained lawful status in the United States. The longtime client initially worked with the Jane W. Wilson Family Justice Clinic, which helped her urgently adopt her grandson, an orphaned U.S. citizen child. Once reaching adulthood, the adoptee…