Pitt law school to help Afghan asylum seekers receive pro bono legal representation

The University of Pittsburgh School of Law is lending a hand to help Afghan refugees secure asylum.

The university plans to hire an Asylum Fellow to train and support pro bono attorneys who will work with local organizations in assisting refugees, said Pitt professor Sheila Vélez Martínez.

Vélez Martínez is the Jack and Lovell Olender Professor of Asylum Refugee and Immigration Law at Pitt’s law school. She is also the director of Clinical Programs and the Immigration Law Clinic at Pitt.

The money to support the cause would come from a $188,000 grant from the Heinz Endowments, Vélez Martínez said.

Under U.S. law, people who flee their countries because they fear persecution can apply for asylum. If they are granted asylum, they are permitted to stay in the United States.

Many refugees who came to the U.S. in the past year are on humanitarian parole, a tool under the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows temporary entry here, Vélez Martínez said.

“We are looking to provide the durable solutions that the refugees need,” she said. “Once their immediate needs have been met, asylum provides a durable solution for them to be able to remain in this country.”

Reaching asylum is not always easy. Often, refugees need the assistance of immigration lawyers, but those lawyers are in high demand and low in numbers.

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“To be able to get even close to meet some of this need, we will require an ‘all hands on deck’ effort from the legal community,” she said.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, about 84,600 Afghan nationals, American citizens and lawful permanent residents have arrived in the U.S. as part of Operation Allies Welcome, Vélez Martínez said.

She estimated, from a survey of the refugee resettlement organizations, that about 200 Afghan refugees might have a solid base for an asylum claim in Western Pennsylvania.

A study by the University of Pennsylvania Law Review showed that, between 2007 and 2012, 37% of all immigrants and 14% of detained immigrants secured legal representation. Only 2% of immigrants obtained pro bono representation from nonprofits, law school clinics or large law firms.

Immigrants with attorneys fared far better in their quest for asylum, according to the Government Accountability Office. Legal representation generally doubled the likelihood that immigration judges would grant refugees asylum.

A native of Puerto Rico, Vélez Martínez came to Pittsburgh in 2010 to create the immigration law clinic at Pitt. She knows the feeling of being separated from family — she said she experienced as much in 2017 after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico. She said she holds empathy for the refugees.

“Services are sometimes limited and agencies are struggling,” Vélez Martínez said. “We work with the agencies to see what’s needed. I get emotional. I still cry sometimes and I drop to my knees to pray. It feels good to help these people.”