The practicum, Transformative Immigration Law was a remarkable experience for both students and their clients earlier this year, when they won every case they represented in court. Alum and adjunct professor Stephen W. Manning, JD ’01, an immigration law expert and executive director of the Innovation Law Lab, instructed and supervised the students.
Participating law students applied what they learned in law classes to help community members swept up in unlawful DHS raids in the Portland area, specifically those operations enjoined or stopped by the federal district courts. “It was, in part, a class in using ancient legal doctrines—the law of habeas corpus—to stem the advent of a post-law society,” said Prof. Manning.
In the practicum, Prof. Manning randomly assigned cases to the participating students from the hundreds of people DHS detained in Oregon who sought legal assistance. Prof. Manning and his colleague Kate Pritchard, a staff attorney who works with Prof. Manning, instructed the students on the procedural mechanisms for filing habeas corpus petitions in federal court, the type of petition that can help facilitate release from ICE detention. Students then interviewed detained individuals, researched legal arguments, prepared, and helped file five habeas corpus petitions in federal court in New Mexico and Washington, where ICE had transferred the clients.
The results were remarkable as students won every case. Prof. Manning said, “I’m particularly impressed with my students for their bravery and their integrity in stepping in and taking on these immense challenges. To win every case says something about the illegality of DHS culture, but it also speaks to the hard work and ingenuity of the law students.”
Manning co-designed the immigration law practicum with Edmund O. Belsheim Professor of Law, Juliet Stumpf. Witnessing the students’ achievement, Prof. Stumpf observed that “this unique course, led by one of the nation’s foremost immigrant civil rights advocates, directly engages students in one of the most pressing issues of our time: the lawfulness of the government’s use of force and the legal protection of members of our state and local communities.”
From the students’ perspectives, they were challenged by the gravity and urgency of these immigration matters, as well as the need to quickly adapt to sudden shifts in immigration law and policy. Alexia S. Lui, JD ’26, described her participation as an “invaluable supplement to her doctrinal courses.” Alexia also highlighted the course’s innovative lawyering aspect, where one of the most impactful skills she learned “was the art of storytelling and integrating a factual narrative into a legal framework.”
Additionally, Alexia commented that the “most difficult part of this experience was the emotional toll of working with community members who were unlawfully and violently detained.” She also noted that “it was inspiring to witness the persistence and perseverance of the individuals who were detained and their families and communities who fought for their freedom,” and that it was “deeply rewarding to work with other passionate students and lawyers to fight to uphold the constitutional rights of the immigrant community.”
In addition to Alexia, students in the course included Sam Montagno ’26, Claire Avalos ’26, Brisa Franco ’27, Ethan Yarish ’26, and Erika Beech ’26.
