MSU Immigration Law Clinic celebrates 15th anniversary

For Veronica and David Thronson, the passion for immigration law and representing clients never stops — and it cannot, as immigration cases never let up. They are not afraid to take on any complex or challenging case, sometimes spending many hours of research on cases that most pro bono attorneys would avoid.

David and Veronica met through their shared interest in immigration law and both find it hard to disengage sometimes. They recall a dinner conversation with their daughter who told them to stop using the “i-word” at home, since they would continue to discuss immigration issues and cases outside of work.

The Thronsons came to the Michigan State University College of Law to establish the Immigration Law Clinic back in 2010. Veronica Thronson, a clinical professor of law and director of the clinic, had been practicing family and immigration law in Las Vegas. David Thronson, also a professor of law, was a math teacher in New York as well as in Nepal with the Peace Corps before practicing and teaching law.

Now, 15 years later, the clinic has represented clients from 98 different countries, with over 400 hearings in Detroit Immigration Court alone and appearances in almost 300 immigration interviews with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

How the clinic started

When the Thronsons launched the clinic, they wanted to move beyond just specializing in one area of law, which tends to be the case at many other schools where clinics tend to focus on a narrow range of cases, such as just asylum or refugee issues.

After arriving in Michigan, they saw a need to serve clients from across communities, from asylum cases to petitions from domestic violence victims to unaccompanied children to people who wanted to become U.S. citizens who faced obstacles related to disabilities. The clinic does not charge clients fees and can represent those who cannot afford an attorney.

“We wanted to be a full-service immigration clinic because we wanted to give these students different experiences,” Veronica said. “Given our background, we knew we wanted to represent children, and we knew we wanted to represent victims of domestic violence, so those were the two main focuses that we had.”

Many of the graduates from the clinic have decided to practice in this area or related fields, including a former student who runs his own clinic at another law school, with others working at not-for-profit agencies or private law firms.

Students lead

The clinic enrolls between eight and a dozen law students per semester. At orientation, these students immediately leave with a casefile. While students receive close supervision, they are the lead attorneys on the case and work around 20 hours each week on clinic matters.

The students are at the forefront of the clinic’s work, not only meeting with clients but also appearing at hearings. Unlike many other clinics, MSU immigration law students have multiple cases in their portfolio because part of what students need to learn is how to manage their time and how to work with different clients.

“This is unique to clinical education, as opposed to externships or other programs where students go out and work with lawyers in their community, where they may be assisting those lawyers,” David said. “Here, they are the lawyer, and we’re assisting them and we’re working to try and pick cases that they have time to figure out and work through.”

Ongoing work

Immigration has never been an easy area to practice. People can be in incredibly vulnerable situations, with the stakes being as high as life or death. The burden of proof is always on the immigrant seeking relief.

“Immigration law does not provide you with a right to an appointed attorney. Most people go through the immigration process, no matter how complex their case is, without a lawyer,” David said. “A lawyer can really matter, but you do have rights to certain hearings and notice to know what’s happening.”

Over the past 15 years, the clinic has been able to thrive and — with so many students having worked there — has grown in national recognition and achieved real impact with clients in Michigan and across the country.

For the Thronsons and their students, this work requires community. Dealing with immigration cases is emotional and tough work, so that’s why there is a dedicated support system for the students.

“Part of learning to be a lawyer is learning to deal with your emotions, learning to deal with the stress of what we do, and learning to create your own support system,” David said. “Veronica is a tremendous support system for me, and I try to be the same for her.”

Many people have stepped up to do this work, and the Thronsons are eager to continue training the next generation of lawyers to sustain this work.

Now, at their dinner table, they still talk about immigration, but with the students they invite over.