Webinar: The Crisis in U.S. Immigration Adjudication

The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation invite you to join us for the upcoming free National ABF Fellows Webinar: The Crisis in U.S. Immigration Adjudication The enforcement of immigration law and policy in the United States is a complex and much-debated topic. Join us for a panel discussion examining some of the most pressing challenges on this timely subject, including the increasing court backlog, the relationship between legal professionals, detainees, & interpreters, and the need for quality legal representation to ensure a more humane system and policies. Register Here Wednesday, April 26, 2023, 2:00pm ET / 1:00pm CT / 12:00pm MT / 11:00am PT Featuring: Jojo Annobil Executive Director, Immigrant Justice Corps Jojo Annobil is the Executive Director of Immigrant Justice Corps, the first and only fellowship program in the nation dedicated to increasing access to counsel for low-income immigrants. He is an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law, where he co-teaches the Immigrant Defense Clinic. He previously served as Attorney-in-Charge of The Legal Aid Society’s Immigration Law Unit, Co-Chair of the NY State Bar Association's Committee on Immigration. He is a member of the Katzmann Study Group on Immigration Representation created by the late Chief Judge Robert Katzmann, which developed and implemented the first universal right-to-counsel project for low-income New York detainees facing deportation from the US. Sonya Rao ABF/AccessLex Institute Post-Doctoral Fellow Sonya Rao is a legal and linguistic anthropologist. She received her PhD at UCLA in Anthropology in 2021, where she wrote a dissertation on working conditions for language interpreters in immigration courts. Currently, she serves as the American Bar Foundation/AccessLex Postdoctoral Scholar in Legal and Higher Education, where she is investigating the state of training for law students to work across languages.  Wendy S. Wayne Life Fellow, American Bar Foundation Past Chair, ABA Commission on Immigration Director, Immigration Impact Unit, Committee for Public Counsel Services Wendy S. Wayne is the founder and Director of the Immigration Impact Unit at the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the Massachusetts public defender agency, where she provides training and advice to court-appointed attorneys throughout the state. She is the former Chair of the American Bar Association Commission on Immigration and currently sits on its Advisory Committee. Ms. Wayne previously served on the Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council Task Force on Secure Communities, the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission and the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Moderated by: James R. Silkenat Patron Fellow, American Bar Foundation Past President, American Bar Association Director & Treasurer, World Justice Project James R. Silkenat is a former National Chair of the ABF Fellows and a Past President of the ABA. He currently serves as Treasurer and a Member of the Board of Directors of the World Justice Project. Mr. Silkenat previously served as Chair of the ABA Section of International Law, the ABA's Latin American Legal Initiative, and the Lawyers Committee for International Human Rights (now Human Rights First). He is a member of the American Law Institute, the Council on Foreign Relations, and is a past Fellow of the US State Department Scholar/Diplomat Program. He is also an Honorary Master of the Bench at Middle Temple Inn in London, England. American Bar Foundation 750 North Lake Shore Drive, 4th Floor Chicago, Illinois 60611 ‌ ‌

KJ