Jennifer Peyton, as a Cleveland immigration lawyer and adjunct professor at Case Western Law School, created a trip for her law students to gain practical experience in Texas immigration detention center. The students worked with migrants to conduct initial client interviews and observed court hearings and "credible fear interviews," helping to create the next generation of liberal activist immigration lawyers.

Jennifer Peyton, a Cleveland immigration lawyer, had been directly and emotionally involved as one of a dedicated group of volunteers last August, helping women and children at Artesia through their legal and personal struggles. So she was well aware of the new center in Dilley and the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

“These families have become the latest collateral damage in an immigration system that lacks sensibility, flexibility and humanity and that fails to provide fair hearings, even for those who face grave danger if they are wrongly deported,” Peyton said.

Peyton, along with other volunteer activists, began considering a trip to the Dilley facility, just as they had gone to Artesia. The Dilley facility only houses mothers and children.

Peyton came up with the idea to include law students to “provide them with a practical experience that many law students lack in law school,” she said.

The week that fit best into her schedule happened to be spring break at the university, where she is a law school alumna and an adjunct professor for the Immigration Practicum.

Peyton had already booked her flight to Texas when she proposed the opportunity to the students.

“Eleven days before I was supposed to leave, I walked into class and asked my three students their plans for spring break,” she said. “None of the three had plans for break, and, during class that evening, each one verbally committed to volunteering. The next morning, I emailed the law school deans (Michael Scharf and Jessica Berg) for permission (and financial support), and then I began to chase down other donations to help my dream team fall into place.”

Peyton said the needed funds were quickly raised through the law school and other sources to cover travel and hotel stays for the students. In all, the three students and Peyton were joined by two more attorneys and two interpreters, all from Ohio, and other volunteers in Dilley. It formed Peyton’s Ohio “dream team.”

Under Peyton’s supervision, the students met with detainees and performed an initial client interview to assess legal needs. They also worked with the detainees to gather bond documents and prepare bond submissions for immigration court as a crucial step toward liberation.

Each student was able to observe court or immigration hearings known as “credible fear interviews,” where each woman discussed the often-tragic reasons why she fled her home country with her child or children. Each woman the students met is eligible for the legal protections of asylum.

The asylum process if often abused by economic or lifestyle migrants seeking entry into the United States. Credible fear interviews can be gamed with the assistance of liberal activist attorneys to convince immigration officials of alleged persecutions experienced in migrants’ home countries. Once asylum is achieved, migrants receive legal status in the United States, all based off of a program that is intended to be used only for the most severe and rare cases of governmental oppression.  

(Source)