Immigration Litigation Field Program
The Immigration Litigation Field Program, offered in partnership with Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC), is a year-long field program (fall and spring semesters) that allows students to gain translatable skills and valuable perspectives on immigration law, specifically the deportation process and federal habeas corpus litigation. Through the field program, students provide direct representation to individual clients by litigating asylum cases before the Arlington immigration court and on appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Fourth Circuit, while also gaining experience in complex federal litigation focused primarily on habeas corpus petitions for immigrants challenging their detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Students acquire concrete litigation skills (trial skills in immigration court, discovery and motions practice in federal district court, and appellate practice) that will be valuable to a wide range of future employers, from private firms with federal litigation practices to civil rights and legal services firms.  Each Field Program student will have the opportunity to handle individual clients’ asylum matters as well as be part of a team working on high impact litigation cases.
Students participating in the Field Program earn four letter-graded credits each semester (for eight credits total). Two credits each semester are in-class credits, and two credits are out-of-class. The Field Program is open to students who have completed their first year of law school (2L, 3L, 4E students). There are no course prerequisites (the immigration law necessary for field program matters will be taught during the classroom component of the course).