Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice

APPROACH. SCIJ’s three-pronged approach﹘train, mobilize, organize﹘aims to push back against the imbalance of justice in the courts and organize for long-term change through community power building. SCIJ’s focus on collaboration by partnering with colleges, pairings students with attorneys, and working with sister organizations builds on this same goal by developing a network that can meet immediate needs while also leveraging collective power for systemic change.

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS. Through collaborative partnerships SCIJ developed with Worcester State University (WSU) and Brown University, SCIJ has trained 49 students, most of whom are immigrants or first-generation Americans, women or gender-diverse people, and/or people of color. SCIJ’s trained students have:

• Provided pro bono representation to 50 asylum seekers;
• Connected 79 immigrants with social services such as housing and food assistance;
• Won campaigns in MA and RI to ensure driver’s licenses are available to people regardless of immigration status; and
• Received the New England Innovation Award.