Professor Gary S. Laser

Director of Clinical Education

Chicago-Kent Law Offices

IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law

565 W. Adams St., Room 631

Chicago, IL 60661

CC: Harold J. Krent, Dean;

Stephen D. Sowle

Assistant Dean for Academic Administration & Student Affairs

RE: Petition to Reinstate Chicago-Kent’s Immigration Law Clinic

Dear Professor Laser:

We, the undersigned Chicago-Kent students representing its Immigration Law Society (ILS) and having interest in practicing immigration law, respectfully request the reinstatement of Chicago-Kent’s Immigration Law Clinic 1 and 2 (Law 526 and 539).

The Immigration Clinic provided opportunities to our student body to work on cases involving “all areas of immigration law, including professionals, aliens of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts and business, individuals seeking immigration benefits for family members, asylees and individuals threatened with removal from the United States by the government.” Thus, immigration law is an ideal capstone course for a law degree as it integrates and overlaps with other areas of practice, such as family, labor, corporate, human rights, and criminal laws.

The termination of the Immigration Clinic is a great loss to Chicago-Kent. Throughout its existence, the Immigration Clinic had been a valuable training ground for Chicago-Kent students interested in immigration practice. The location of the Clinic’s offices within Chicago-Kent’s own walls was very convenient to students who did not need to leave campus to participate in the program.

Aside from training Chicago-Kent students, the Clinic provided immigration legal services and resources to the community at reasonable rates. It also served as a platform for advocating reforms in our country’s immigration laws and practices. Given the recent and anticipated changes in U.S. immigration policy (e.g. the President’s executive orders on undocumented child arrivals, etc.), interest in immigration law among our student body and the need for affordable legal services for our immigrant communities are only bound to grow.

Based on the foregoing, please let us know if we can be of any assistance in the reinstatement of Chicago-Kent’s Immigration Law Clinic. Attached herewith is the signature sheet of Chicago-Kent students who support this petition.

If you have any question or need any further information regarding this petition, please do not hesitate to contact Lauren McGee, ILS President, at [email protected] or Alberto Gonzales, ILS Community Liaison at [email protected]. Thank you for your kind consideration.

Respectfully submitted,

Chicago-Kent Immigration Law Society students