Article published in the Nevada Law Journal

Thronson, David B.

English

David B. Thronson

Humanities Commons

DECEMBER 2009 NEVADA LAWYERSERVING THOSE WHO SERVE"Clinic students learn to look beyond individual cases to understand the way in whichlegal systems and societal institutions frame the choices that people face."Keeping families stable and together is rarely easy.The task can be greatly complicated by the complexitiesof immigration laws that set parameters that sanction andproscribe family decisions about where and with whomto live. When a family member serves in the military, thetask of reconciling family decisions with immigration lawcan become all the more difficult and important. Service inthe military opens some avenues not otherwise generallyavailable within the immigration system, such as shortenedtime to naturalization. But military service simultaneouslycreates barriers and difficulties that make an alreadydifficult legal system even more challenging. Meeting thesechallenges is important, however, as "the assurance that ...spouses, children and other family members are safe andwell is critical to servicemembers' mission readiness, focusand effectiveness in protecting the United States."'Since the Immigration Clinic of the Thomas and MackLegal Clinic opened seven years ago, it has representedhundreds of individuals and families from approximately30 different countries in finding their way through the mazeof immigration law. Among the clinic's past clients arenoncitizens drawn from the 31,000 noncitizens serving inthe armed forces as well as U.S. citizen servicemembers andveterans with noncitizen family. Their efforts to reunite withfamily members demonstrate some of the challenges thatarise when immigration law interacts with military service.For example, reuniting a U.S. citizen servicememberwith a spouse - married while posted abroad - and childrenshould be fairly routine. Yet the shifting deployments ofmilitary personnel can create practical issues for a slow-moving bureaucracy in scheduling required interviews orhearings. Moreover, the types of evidence that immigrationadjudicators seek to establish the bona fides of youngmarriages can be difficult to present for couples separatedwhen a servicemember is deployed elsewhere.Even for servicemembers and veterans in the UnitedStates, service to country provides no relief from narrowand harsh immigration laws that often limit opportunitiesInfor family members to acquire legal immigration status.For example, a disabled veteran with limited earningpotential because of service-related disabilities still mustmeet stringent sponsorship requirements to guaranteethat immigrating family members will not become publiccharges. Also, immigration law simply does not provide apath to legalization for all, and even spouses and children ofmilitary personnel may find themselves without the abilityto regularize the status of their family members. In suchinstances, living together with family may only be possibleoutside the United States, which effectively would end theservice members' continued ability to serve.The practice of immigration law in the clinic providesstudent attorneys with a range of opportunities to advocate ina complex area of the law working with clients for whom thestakes are no less than the ability to remain in the United Stateswith their families. And this work provides a much-neededsource of quality legal representation to struggling families,including those of servicemembers and veterans. Dozensof Boyd clinic students have worked on cases for militaryfamilies, and all of our clinic students have been exposedto such cases. Students learn that effective representationoften involves reaching beyond the normal boundaries oflegal specialities and professional identities. For example,representing a veteran in an immigration matter may requireresearch deep into matters of public benefits law and mayinvolve as much work from social workers as from lawyers.The interdisciplinary approach of the clinic provides a strongbase of training to find the resources needed for each case.Effective legal representation also may require pushingbeyond the limits of current law. Clinic students learn tolook beyond individual cases to understand the way in whichlegal systems and societal institutions frame the choices thatpeople face. This connection of the individual case to broadersystems, in turn, provides a grounded basis for educationaloutreach efforts and reform advocacy from the clinic. Whenstudents, for example, provide analysis of pending federallegislation, such as the Lance Corporal Jose Gutierrez Actm I  E  B ER   9 NEVADA LAWYERHeinOnline -- 17 Nev. Law. 34 2009NEVADA LAWYERof 20082 which would ameliorate some of the peculiarchallenges that face noncitizen servicemembers, theyanalyze proposals for systemic change through thelens of the actual experiences of their clients.The work of the immigration clinic to keepfamilies together is invariably meaningful. When thiswork involves assistance to military servicemembers,veterans and their families it provides a rich opportunityto give back to those who sacrifice and serve. 1l1 Susan E. Timmons and Margaret D. Stock, Immigration IssuesFaced by U.S. Servicemembers: Challenges and Solutions, 43Clearinghouse Review 270, 273 (2009).2 H.R. 6020.DAVID THRONSON is a Professor of Law andAssociate Dean for Clinical Studies at UNLV William S.Boyd School of Law.Coe SwobeLCL CoordinatorToll Free (866) 828-0022or(775) 322-2154Cell (775) 848-1154All~ Co mncain CofietilmDECEMBER 2009Inf yo wan tosopikingIHI... =you i rll !FIND AII WAY.¢ ,lIf ot..io ,' wl l, IFtlID] fANi EXCUSE._llHeinOnline -- 17 Nev. Law. 35 2009

Serving Those Who Serve

Michigan State University College of Law: Digital Commons

Michigan State University College of Law
Digital Commons at Michigan State University College of Law
Faculty Publications
1-1-2009
Serving Those Who Serve
David B. Thronson
Michigan State University College of Law, david.thronson@law.msu.edu
Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.law.msu.edu/facpubs
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Recommended Citation
David Thronson, Serving Those Who Serve, 17 Nev. Law. 34 (2009).
DECEMBER 2009 
NEVADA LAWYER
SERVING THOSE WHO SERVE
"Clinic students learn to look beyond individual cases to understand the way in which
legal systems and societal institutions frame the choices that people face."
Keeping families stable and together is rarely easy.
The task can be greatly complicated by the complexities
of immigration laws that set parameters that sanction and
proscribe family decisions about where and with whom
to live. When a family member serves in the military, the
task of reconciling family decisions with immigration law
can become all the more difficult and important. Service in
the military opens some avenues not otherwise generally
available within the immigration system, such as shortened
time to naturalization. But military service simultaneously
creates barriers and difficulties that make an already
difficult legal system even more challenging. Meeting these
challenges is important, however, as "the assurance that ...
spouses, children and other family members are safe and
well is critical to servicemembers' mission readiness, focus
and effectiveness in protecting the United States."'
Since the Immigration Clinic of the Thomas and Mack
Legal Clinic opened seven years ago, it has represented
hundreds of individuals and families from approximately
30 different countries in finding their way through the maze
of immigration law. Among the clinic's past clients are
noncitizens drawn from the 31,000 noncitizens serving in
the armed forces as well as U.S. citizen servicemembers and
veterans with noncitizen family. Their efforts to reunite with
family members demonstrate some of the challenges that
arise when immigration law interacts with military service.
For example, reuniting a U.S. citizen servicemember
with a spouse - married while posted abroad - and children
should be fairly routine. Yet the shifting deployments of
military personnel can create practical issues for a slow-
moving bureaucracy in scheduling required interviews or
hearings. Moreover, the types of evidence that immigration
adjudicators seek to establish the bona fides of young
marriages can be difficult to present for couples separated
when a servicemember is deployed elsewhere.
Even for servicemembers and veterans in the United
States, service to country provides no relief from narrow
and harsh immigration laws that often limit opportunities
In
for family members to acquire legal immigration status.
For example, a disabled veteran with limited earning
potential because of service-related disabilities still must
meet stringent sponsorship requirements to guarantee
that immigrating family members will not become public
charges. Also, immigration law simply does not provide a
path to legalization for all, and even spouses and children of
military personnel may find themselves without the ability
to regularize the status of their family members. In such
instances, living together with family may only be possible
outside the United States, which effectively would end the
service members' continued ability to serve.
The practice of immigration law in the clinic provides
student attorneys with a range of opportunities to advocate in
a complex area of the law working with clients for whom the
stakes are no less than the ability to remain in the United States
with their families. And this work provides a much-needed
source of quality legal representation to struggling families,
including those of servicemembers and veterans. Dozens
of Boyd clinic students have worked on cases for military
families, and all of our clinic students have been exposed
to such cases. Students learn that effective representation
often involves reaching beyond the normal boundaries of
legal specialities and professional identities. For example,
representing a veteran in an immigration matter may require
research deep into matters of public benefits law and may
involve as much work from social workers as from lawyers.
The interdisciplinary approach of the clinic provides a strong
base of training to find the resources needed for each case.
Effective legal representation also may require pushing
beyond the limits of current law. Clinic students learn to
look beyond individual cases to understand the way in which
legal systems and societal institutions frame the choices that
people face. This connection of the individual case to broader
systems, in turn, provides a grounded basis for educational
outreach efforts and reform advocacy from the clinic. When
students, for example, provide analysis of pending federal
legislation, such as the Lance Corporal Jose Gutierrez Act
m I
  E  B ER   9 NEVADA LAWYER
HeinOnline -- 17 Nev. Law. 34 2009
NEVADA LAWYER
of 20082 which would ameliorate some of the peculiar
challenges that face noncitizen servicemembers, they
analyze proposals for systemic change through the
lens of the actual experiences of their clients.
The work of the immigration clinic to keep
families together is invariably meaningful. When this
work involves assistance to military servicemembers,
veterans and their families it provides a rich opportunity
to give back to those who sacrifice and serve. 1l
1 Susan E. Timmons and Margaret D. Stock, Immigration Issues
Faced by U.S. Servicemembers: Challenges and Solutions, 43
Clearinghouse Review 270, 273 (2009).
2 H.R. 6020.
DAVID THRONSON is a Professor of Law and
Associate Dean for Clinical Studies at UNLV William S.
Boyd School of Law.
Coe Swobe
LCL Coordinator
Toll Free (866) 828-0022
or
(775) 322-2154
Cell (775) 848-1154
All~ Co mncain Cofietil
m
DECEMBER 2009
Inf yo wan tosopikingIHI... =
you i rll !FIND AII WAY.¢ ,
lIf ot..io ,' wl l, I
FtlID] fANi EXCUSE._ll
HeinOnline -- 17 Nev. Law. 35 2009


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