Author: Jean Davis, Associate Librarian for International Law, Brooklyn Law School Library
On October 22, 2025, a dedicated group of Brooklyn Law School (BLS) students, led by John Meade, gathered to learn about the pro bono BLS Immigration Court Assistance Project. This is a new partnership between BLS and nonprofit South Brooklyn Sanctuary (SBS). Amelia Neumayer, program director at SBS, began by describing the range of support services SBS provides to community members. Amelia noted many people who seek assistance from SBS must attend their U.S. Immigration Court hearings without the support of attorneys. SBS works to empower people in New York to represent themselves in Immigration Court. Amelia explained SBS sought law student volunteers to compile up-to-date “country conditions” packets that could support people’s claims for asylum. Next, Amy Hsieh, adjunct professor of clinical law and Public Service Law Center executive director at BLS, provided students with an overview of asylum under U.S. law and explained how an asylum applicant’s “country conditions” packet of information fits into an asylum filing.
I then highlighted many starting points for “country conditions” research. I shared with students that on the day I was preparing to address them, I received a visit from Theia Milano, practice area consultant for LexisNexis Legal & Professional. I told Theia I was creating slides that highlighted the wide range of news sources available in Lexis+. Theia then informed me that as a law student, she had worked on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status cases through a clinical program at Rutgers Law School. Post-graduation, Theia worked pro bono, processing Ukraine war refugee applications in Berlin during her tenure as a Fellow with LUISS University in Rome. Theia volunteered her Lexis pro bono hours to support the BLS Immigration Court Assistance Project. I gratefully incorporated Theia into my October research presentation.
There are now six teams of intrepid BLS students who are beginning their “country conditions” research for this new Project. A great benefit of this Project is that it allows a 1L to meet and work with an LLM candidate! If you are aiding similar projects, feel free to consult this BLS Library guide page of starting points for “country conditions” research. It incorporates recommendations from past and current directors of the BLS Safe Harbor Clinic. Safe Harbor Clinic Co-Director and Professor Stacy Caplow (who also is strongly supporting this Project) frequently updates me about new research sources. She recently made me aware of the 2025 Country Conditions Bulletins provided by the Lewis & Clark Migration & Asylum Lab. Finally, I welcome your suggested additions to our library’s publicly accessible guide page. (Contact: jean.davis@brooklaw.edu)
Leave a Reply