The Carlos A. Costa Immigration and Human Rights Clinic is a one-semester clinic offered during the fall and spring for 6 credits. Students in this clinic intervene on behalf of vulnerable immigrants of all nationalities in a variety of settings.
Student attorneys represent refugees seeking asylum in the United States as a result of political persecution in their countries of origin; Cuban and Haitian nationals seeking relief under country-specific immigration legislation; immigrant workers who have been victims of wage theft; and other vulnerable populations, such as abused spouses and children, unaccompanied minors, and aliens subject to immigration detention. Representation occurs in trials before immigration judges; in non-adversarial agency interviews; in appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals; and in appeals to the federal courts.
In addition, in recent years the Clinic has expanded its advocacy to include international human rights work in the countries that have historically been the source of migration to Miami and South Florida, particularly those in Latin American and the Caribbean. This work includes international fieldwork and investigation; litigation before foreign courts; proceedings before international bodies, such as the Organization of American States; and in litigation in U.S. federal courts on behalf of victims of human rights abuses abroad.
Juan Carlos Gomez
Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor of Law
(305) 348-7541
jcagomez@fiu.edu