Newswise — FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced today that certain young people who were brought to the United States as young children will be considered for relief from removal from the country or from entering into removal proceedings.
Elizabeth Young, associate professor of law and director of the immigration law clinic at the University of Arkansas, is following this news and is available to comment on the announcement.
The announcement applies to children who do not present a risk to national security or public safety and meet several key criteria. Those who demonstrate that they meet the criteria will be eligible to receive deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal, and will be eligible to apply for work authorization. The new policy is effective immediately.
Young started the immigration law clinic in 2009. Her work there focuses on the citizenship process, a key area of federal immigration law. She and third-year law students guide local residents, including University of Arkansas students, through the various stages of residency status with the ultimate goal of U.S. citizenship.
In 2010 and 2011, Young and the student lawyers helped Jonathan Chavez, a University of Arkansas student who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Florida, where he was visiting his mother for Christmas. Chavez was released after two months in detention. Young and the students requested prosecutorial discretion, which resulted in an administrative closure of his removal case.
Before starting the clinic at the University of Arkansas, Young served for one year as interim director of the immigration law clinic at George Washington University Law School. She worked for three years at the San Francisco Immigration Court as an attorney adviser through the Department of Justice Honors Program. Her duties included writing final orders, analyzing and presenting changes in federal law to the immigration judges, supervising judicial law clerks and managing the Court’s intern program.
Young’s research focuses on all areas of immigration reform.
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