Greenleaf Conference on Practicing Asylum: Expert Witness Testimony in Latin American Asylum Cases

Authors

• Kimberly Gauderman
• Elizabeth Hutchison
• Maria Baldini
• Blaine Bookey
• Dylan Corbett
• Thomas Davies Jr.
• Natalie Hansen
• Allegra Love
• Nara Milanich
• Aaron Morris
• Gayla Ruffer
• Gabriela Torres
• Ericka Verba
• Sarah Wolff

Files

Description

Latin American migration to the United States, long a strategy for political exile and economic survival in the US-Mexico border region, has in recent decades diversified with respect to region of origin, US destination, and motivations for migration. As demonstrated by the recent surge in Central American immigration - particularly the large numbers of unaccompanied minors and women with small children - the US immigration system has all but completely broken down under the highly-politicized, under-resourced, and privatized detention-deportation system that now characterizes the treatment of undocumented migrants. Even the small proportion of migrants who are actually granted the right to an asylum hearing have great difficulty in obtaining experienced legal representation and competent expert testimony to support their claims, particularly when these include domestic and sexual violence, repression due to sexual orientation or gender identity, and gang violence.

In response to the fundamental barrier to effective asylum representation posed by the dearth of experienced attorneys, academics and practitioners around the country (including from The University of New Mexico) are working to create a network of experienced attorneys and expert witnesses, particularly for cases involving domestic violence, sexual violence, and mother-child asylum. Attorneys require additional training in the realities of Latin American society in order to coordinate and direct adequate defenses for asylum seekers. Likewise, US scholars, journalists, and others normally tapped for expert witness testimony can benefit from greater access to asylum networks, resources, and witness training. In light of the growing backlog of such cases, systematic communication among all participants - clients, asylum attorneys, expert witnesses, donors, and corporate pro-bono lawyers - has also become an urgent necessity.

This free and open conference will pull together attorneys and academics engaged in these issues in order to expand the network of trained expert witnesses available to attorneys and to strengthen best practices in the creation of country condition affidavits. Panel presentations will address technical and academic subjects critical to asylum work, as well as explore policy and political conditions for asylum work. Presenters combine academics and attorneys from New Mexico and beyond.

Publication Date

4-14-2017

City

Albuquerque

Recommended Citation

Gauderman, Kimberly; Elizabeth Hutchison; Maria Baldini; Blaine Bookey; Dylan Corbett; Thomas Davies Jr.; Natalie Hansen; Allegra Love; Nara Milanich; Aaron Morris; Gayla Ruffer; Gabriela Torres; Ericka Verba; and Sarah Wolff. "Greenleaf Conference on Practicing Asylum: Expert Witness Testimony in Latin American Asylum Cases." (2017). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/laii_events/635