Immigrant Justice Project Receives Pro Bono Award
On Oct. 23, Yale Law School students involved in the student organization Immigrant Justice Project (IJP) received the Outstanding Pro Bono Partner Award from Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG). L4GG is a coalition of lawyers and partners striving to advance equal rights under the law by mobilizing pro bono cases and advocacy efforts on issues spanning immigration, racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, voting rights, environmental justice, and reproductive health care.
Staff members from L4GG presented the award at an in-person ceremony that celebrated the accomplishments and mission of IJP students. The event took place during National Pro Bono Week, Oct. 20-26.
IJP students were particularly recognized for devoting their time to Project Corazon, the immigrant rights program run by L4GG. Project Corazon focuses on defending the full rights of asylum seekers, as well as representing work permit authorization cases and coordinating rapid responses to critical migrant-related legal needs.
Lauren Worsek, director of pro bono initiatives at L4GG, explained the decision to recognize the students with the Outstanding Pro Bono Partner Award: “Yale Law School’s Immigrant Justice Project exemplifies the spirit of pro bono work and the profound impact it can have on the lives of those in need…They [IJP] have been exceptional collaborators and true champions in our mission to fight for human rights.”
Jessica Riley, a supervising attorney with Project Corazon, reflected on the students’ contributions: “This past year, the Yale Law students were instrumental in helping so many of our clients. One of them, a Haitian asylum seeker who faced a harrowing two-year journey, finally won his case. Thanks to the dedication of our volunteers and staff, he is now reunited with his family, after a year and a half of separation and nine months of detention.”
For the past two years, Project Corazon has hosted a group of IJP students during spring recess for an in-person volunteer trip to the Rio Grande Valley. While on site, students learn about complicated immigration procedures, conduct informational visits to ports of entry, and conduct intakes and know-your-rights sessions at migrant shelters in Mexico.
This past year, students used their legal expertise to work on multiple asylum cases and complete interviews at the Laredo immigration detention center.
“Even though we students knew of the ongoing humanitarian concerns at the border, nothing could have prepared us for the extent of human suffering that we witnessed in Matamoros and Reynosa,” said Neha Srinivasan ’25. “Thousands of migrants were crowded into makeshift tent camps with no access to clean water, sanitation, or medical care, and the constant threat of cartel violence had stripped them of any sense of security.”
María Mendoza ’25 said that the relationship between IJP and L4GG has profoundly impacted the law students.
“I’m particularly inspired by how Project Corazon lawyers’ zealous advocacy crosses the border,” she said. “Our supervising attorneys meet people in need where they are, visiting shelters and camps where migrants usually have no access to legal services at all. Their model of public interest lawyering has shaped the kind of lawyer I hope to be.”
Yale Law School’s Immigrant Justice Project organizes law students in support of immigrant communities. IJP students work under the supervision of licensed attorneys. The group engages in advocacy projects and provides direct legal services within the Greater New Haven area as well as further afield around the country.
IJP’s work is made possible by the generous support of the Gruber Project for Global Justice and Women’s Rights. The Gruber Project supports clinical and experiential learning initiatives at Yale Law School that foster student and faculty participation in direction efforts to advance global justice and/or women’s rights.
