Immigration Clinic Frees Detained Client

UC Davis School of Law Immigration Law Clinic students Liam McKenna '12 and Rabia Paracha '12, under the supervision of Professor Raha Jorjani, secured the release of their client and restored his status as a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States.  The decision came February 15 following months of effort by McKenna, Paracha, and Xochitl Lopez '12, who started the case last semester.  The client had been detained for nearly one year.

Lopez spent significant time researching mental health services associated with the case, and McKenna and Paracha engaged in substantial oral advocacy on the client's behalf, including powerful direct examinations of witnesses, Jorjani said.  The students successfully argued that reasonable accommodations had to be made for the client's disability, and guided the Court through procedural and substantive accommodations, ultimately winning relief.

"The students here went above and beyond the call of duty in this case and as a result, their client is home with his family for the first time in years," said Jorjani.  "Thanks to Professors Holly Cooper, Amagda Perez, and Leticia Saucedo for their advice and support in complex legal and ethical matters arising from this case."