What is the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic?
For over thirty years, the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic (HIRC), in partnership with Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS), has sought to advance immigrants’ rights. Law students take the lead in representing low-income immigrants who are fighting deportation and seeking asylum and other forms of humanitarian protection in the United States. Students utilize a range of legal tools on behalf of their clients, including direct representation, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community outreach. The Clinic’s team is interdisciplinary. Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Liala Buoniconti and social work interns work closely with clinical students, staff, faculty, and clients to ensure the Clinic’s approach is holistic and trauma-sensitive. Students are either placed at HLS or at GBLS, Boston’s oldest legal services organization.
How do I register?
The Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic is offered in the Fall and Spring semesters. You can learn about the required clinical course component, clinical credits and the clinical registration process by reading the course catalog description and exploring the links in this section.
Sample Schedule
| Morning | Afternoon | Evening | |
| Student 1 | 9:00 – 10:00 am: Meet with clinical supervisor to discuss case strategy, goals for client meeting, client interviewing techniques, and next steps 10:30 – 12:30 pm: Meet with client to build rapport and begin gathering facts to support asylum claim | 1:30 – 2:30 pm: Update case management system and affidavit with facts gathered from client interview; conduct outreach to supporting and expert witnesses 2:30 – 3:30 pm: Research firm resettlement bar to asylum claim and begin drafting pre-trial brief | 6:30 – 7:30pm: Outline amicus brief on gender asylum to be filed in circuit court |
| Student 2 | 10:00 – 11:30 am: Meet with client at local detention center to develop affidavit and discuss case strategy; debrief with team-mate and supervisor during car ride 12:30 – 1:00 pm: Engage in phone consultation with individual referred by community partner for immigration relief screening | 1:00 – 2:00 pm: Participate in national call with other NGOs who are developing a strategy to challenge new asylum-related regulations 2:00 – 3:00 pm: Meet with cross-clinical case team and supervisors to discuss third party outreach in potential affirmative litigation against a local detention center. | 5:00 – 6:00 pm: Meet with other case team members to collaboratively work on immigration court filing on behalf of detained client. 6:00 – 6:30 pm: Research case law concerning tort claims on behalf of individuals denied proper medical care in immigration detention for complaint/motion to dismiss |
In the News
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Clinic students receive 2025 Skadden Fellowships
Louis Lin’25 and Tamara Shamir’25 will soon embark on two-year fellowships pursuing public interest law on a full-time basis as recipients of the 2025 Skadden Fellowship.
February 27, 2025
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Scholarship from the Clinics: Examining Charleston, Researching Solitary Confinement
This post highlights recent scholarship by Susan Crawford and members of the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program.
August 6, 2024