IN PURSUIT OF FULL RIGHTS AND PROTECTION (Fall 2021). The Vermont Immigrant Assistance project (VIA) at Vermont Law School represents immigrants and refugees from around the globe (88 countries to date) and helps people seeking legal status and safety—people fleeing persecution, torture, abuse, war, natural disasters and other unstable or life-threatening situations.

Since 2003, VIA has provided no-cost legal assistance to hundreds of non-citizens who cannot afford private counsel. VIA enables immigrants and refugees in Vermont to fight for their full rights and protection under federal and state laws and works with individuals like Carla, a young woman from Honduras, who was arrested after being assaulted by her boyfriend and calling 9-1-1 for help. Carla did not speak English; her boyfriend did. And so the police spoke only to her abuser, who lied and claimed Carla was in fact the perpetrator. The police sided with the English-speaking boyfriend and instead arrested Carla, who spent the night in jail, away from her nursing baby and with no way to communicate with authorities. VIA not only helped Carla obtain legal status through a UVisa but then sued the police department and obtained a cash settlement for Carla and her daughter.

Though VIA handles a wide array of humanitarian cases such as Carla’s, asylum cases are our most challenging, complex and resource-demanding. This has long been true, but the impact has intensified over the years due to restrictive asylum policies and significant delays at the Asylum Office and in Immigration Court, where the backlog has grown to over one million cases, and VIA clients wait years to be heard by a judge. Nonetheless, the VIA asylum docket enjoys a 100% success rate. VIA is able to achieve these wins because the team works in partnership with its clients, psychologists, social workers, human rights experts and law students.

Resolution of legal issues helps people not only escape horrific circumstance, but also to eventually lead more stable lives by easing economic, cultural and psychological hurdles. VIA recently received a note from a client and his wife celebrating the birth of their first child. VIA had helped the client win asylum and get his removal proceedings terminated. The note read: We wanted to share the news of our new baby and tell you that life is great! We are in our own home, and we are very happy, and we just wanted to say that we are still (and will forever be) very grateful for everything you did to keep our family together!

In the image, a family of five seeking withholding of removal and Special Immigrant Juvenile status meet with VIA attorneys in its new Burlington, VT, office.

Clowes Fund Field(s) of Interest: Immigrant Services

Grantees