IHRLC students
IHRLC student attorneys (left to right) Ismaat Klaibou, Madison Bingle, Andrea Rodriguez Burckhardt, and Courtney Veneri

IHRLC students advocate for reparations, accountability for effects of Trump-Era family separations 

In late January 2022, International Human Rights Law Clinic (IHRLC) student attorneys Ismaat Klaibou, Madison Bingle, Andrea Rodriguez Burckhardt, and Courtney Veneri, submitted a public comment to the Department of Homeland Security arguing for reparations and accountability for the Trump administration’s separation of migrant families. Their comment provided four prior examples of family separation in the United States, starting with the separation of enslaved families, then indigenous families, then Japanese-American families, and (largely) families of color through the foster care system. This historical overview was inspired by IHRLC Clinic Director Professor Anita Sinha’s recent piece, A Lineage of Family Separation, forthcoming in the Brooklyn Law Review.

The IHRLC student attorneys will host a teach-in by Zoom on Wednesday, April 6, 2022 at 12:30 pm ET to share more about their work with migrant families separated during the Trump administration.