Immigration and Human Rights (Spring 2010)
Project Description: In spring 2010, the Leitner Clinic partnered with the Returnee Integration Support Center (RISC) in Cambodia and Deported Diaspora, on a project that addresses the potential removal of over 1,000 individuals of Cambodian origin living in the United States. The Leitner team consisted of Fordham Law students Millie Canter (`10), Xiomara Ferrera (`10), Erin Miles (`11), Catherine Parnell (`10) and was co-supervised by Prof. Chi Mgbako and Zaid Hydari, a Dean's Fellow at the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice.
Background: In March 2002, the United States and Cambodia signed an agreement permitting the removal of potentially over 1000 individuals of Cambodian origin living in the United States. The individuals entered the U.S. legally, mostly as refugees in the early 1980s who fled the oppressive conditions of the Khmer Rouge. Their removal is due to an increase in and expansion of enforcement on the part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of policies relating to the removal of deportees who have committed crimes (largely a result of legislation passed in 1996). The crimes for which individuals have been convicted range from relatively minor things like theft and non-violent drug offenses to gang violence. Case-by-case humanitarian review is not available in removal proceedings, giving the immigration judge no discretion to consider such factors as the individual’s family relationships, military service, likelihood of persecution, or lack of connections to country of origin. The removal of individuals who have little to no contact with Cambodia creates a number of problems. Firstly, Cambodia is ill-equipped to receive such a large and complex group of individuals. Secondly, the practice destroys family unity, leaving many families in the U.S. without a primary income earner. Finally, the policy routinely ignores the special needs of individuals suffering from mental health issues or other physical health complications.
Project Outcome: The Leitner Clinic partnered with the Returnee Integration Support Center (RISC) in Cambodia and Deported Diaspora to create a returnee human rights database for use by advocates in Cambodia and the U.S. to seek post-deportation relief and drafted a policy report that DD and RISC will use in their advocacy efforts. The Clinic's report, " Removing Refugees: US Deportation Policy and the Cambodian-American Community" was officially released on Capital Hill and distributed to all members of Congress.
Description of Fieldwork: In March 2010, the Leitner Clinic traveled to Cambodia and conducted interviews with returnees for both the database and the report. Follow up advocacy with the report was done in DC in June 2010.
Partner Organization:The Leitner Clinic partnered with RISC and Deported Diaspora. Returnee Integration Support Center in Cambodia is an NGO facilitating the integration into Cambodian society of people who were admitted to the United States as refugees and are being deported to Cambodia. They offer documentation, employment, housing and referral services in order to support returnees who seek to become independent and productive members of society. Deported Diaspora unifies families and communities to raise awareness and challenge the US deportation system through education, organizing and art.
Land Rights (Fall 2008)
Project Description: In fall 2009, the Leitner Clinic partnered with the Salvation Centre Cambodia (SCC), to draft a report that addresses the forced resettlement of people living with HIV/AIDS in communities in Phnom Penh. The Leitner team consisted of Fordham Law students Ernie Gao (`09), Elizabeth Joynes (`10), and Jessica Mikhailevich (`10) and was co-supervised by Prof. Chi Mgbako and Anna Cave, an associate at the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Partner Organization: Salvation Centre Cambodia (SCC) is a Cambodian NGO established in 1994 to respond to the urgent need of Cambodian people for education, care and support relating to HIV/AIDS. SCC works with Buddhist monks to implement HIV/AIDS prevention and care activities and has improved the lives of many people infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS, especially orphans and vulnerable children. SCC currently works in communi!es that are at risk forced eviction.
Description of Fieldwork: The Leitner Clinic traveled to Cambodia in October 2008 to conduct interviews with: community members in resettlement camps; community members at risk of forced eviction; SCC staff members; and land rights NGOs.
Project Outcome: The Leitner Clinic produced a 118-page report, entitled “Forced Resettlement in Phnom Penh: The Consequences for People Living with HIV/AIDS.” This impact study provides recommendations for action to SCC. Specifically, the report: (1) Documents and analyzes the effects of land resettlement on communities of people who have been or are at risk of being forcibly evicted from their homes, with a specific focus on Boeung Kak Lake residents and people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and their families, in order to inform SCC’s strategy for addressing the problems their beneficiaries are likely to face after forced eviction; (2) Provides recommendations for creative projects that SCC can implement to support its beneficiaries in resettlement in order to address and mitigate the most common problems they are likely to face, especially those affected by HIV/AIDS; (3) Provides a list of potential partner organizations that provide social services in resettlement communities or work on land rights and resettlement advocacy in Phnom Penh with whom SCC could develop partnerships; and (4) Provides transcripts of first-person interview narratives from families in Dam Nak Trayoeng, Boeung Kak Lake, An Dong, and the Borei Keila Green Shelters. The report was published as Forced Eviction and Resettlement in Cambodia: Case Studies from Phnom Penh in the Washington University Global Studies Law Review (2010).
