Project AMPARO
The Patti and Paul Yetter Center for Law collaborated with Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and with the Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services to launch Project AMPARO in October of 2018 to expand experiential student learning through 240-hour internships. Capitalizing on UTEP’s position at the U.S./Mexico border during this landmark time of changing U.S. immigration law and policy, Project AMPARO enables student interns to learn more about immigration law in action from skilled immigration attorneys and representatives. Project AMPARO furthers the Center’s mission by developing in students the skills needed for success in law school and the legal profession through hands-on learning in a cutting-edge practice area. Project AMPARO goes a step further by providing interns and partner organization staff with self-care assistance to protect against vicarious trauma in the context of effectively providing immigration legal services and engaging in service learning.
Project AMPARO interns are first provided a packet of required reading consisting of recent judicial opinions on immigration law issues. They are then educated in immigration law and process by the respective partner organization to which they are assigned. Finally, interns are given immigration law projects through which they may interface with clients, research and write briefings on legal issues, observe immigration law proceedings, learn about immigration law in action in our border jurisdictions, and more. In addition to meaningful and relevant learning projects, supervision, and feedback, interns will receive mentorship and gain a better understanding of the vast field of immigration law during their 240-hour/12-week internships over the fall or spring semester (UTEP undergraduate students) or 240-hour/6-week internships in the summer (current law students and UTEP undergraduate and graduate students).
For further information, contact Professor Lisa J. Soto at lsoto9@utep.edu or (915) 747-8581.