WINTER PROGRAM

Jan 4-10, 2019, Guadalajara, Mexico

This winter, El Centro Rizoma del Migrante (www.rhizomecenter.org) will host Texas law students in Mexico. The program will take place January 4-10, 2019, in Guadalajara, a major migrant hub on Western routes into the United States, and also the capital of one of the states most affected by repatriation.

Throughout the week, students will have ample opportunities to hear from federal and state officials, human rights lawyers, migration experts, and on-the-ground activists. By the end of the program, students will have developed a profound understanding of the interplay between regional migration policy, politics and law, and they will have established a network of invaluable contacts with academics and practitioners in Mexico.

"As political and drug violence in Latin America worsens and U.S. immigration policy continues to harden and grow more restrictive, undocumented and asylum-seeking families will need informed advocates more than ever."

The 2019 Winter Program offers Texas law students an opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of the external factors affecting migration at the U.S.-Mexico border, the harsh impacts of deportation on families, as well as available programs and initiatives for the returned community.

Due to the generous contributions of the Mexican American Bar Association of Houston (MABAH) (www.mabah.com) and the Hispanic Bar Association of Austin (HBAA) Charitable Foundation (www.hispanicbaraustin.com), two Texas law students were awarded full grants to participate in the program. We applaud Melissa Aguirre Valencia, recipient of the MABAH award, and Leah Rodriguez, recipient of the HBAA Charitable Foundation award, for their dedication to immigrant rights and look forward to their continued commitment to serving the Hispanic community.

This year's winter class includes promising future advocates who will be joining us from throughout the state. Participants in this winter's program have worked on asylum claims, advocated for undocumented students, and defended immigrants against detention and deportation.

Please welcome our Winter Program Class of 2019.

Clarissa ROBLES

St. Mary's University School of Law

Leah RODRIGUEZ

University of Texas School of Law

Michaela KIRKLAND

Thurgood Marshall School of Law

Loren ELKINS

Texas A&M University School of Law

Melissa AGUIRRE

South Texas College of Law

Valeria MONTALVO

St. Mary's University School of Law

The Rhizome Center for Migrants is an independent, secular 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to support and defend forcibly displaced persons and uprooted people at risk around the world. The organization was founded in response to the surge in deportations in the United States and has centralized its efforts in Mexico in support of deportees.

This year, The Rhizome Center for Migrants opened the only post-deportation center south of the border devoted entirely to the needs of returnees. The objective of the center is to increase access to justice by providing rapid response to urgent human rights and immigration needs, supporting the returned community on critical matters involving U.S. law, as well as educating mixed-status families on their options for reunification and providing reintegration relief to the most vulnerable returnees.

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