Justice Speaks: November 16, 2011

Persecution and Protection: The Role of Gender and Sexuality in Refugee and Asylum Law

Wednesday, November 16, 2011
12:50-1:50pm
Room W402

Click here to watch a video of this event

Lori Adams, Managing Attorney of the Refugee Protection Program at Human Rights First
Victoria Neilson, Legal Director at Immigration Equality and Adjunct Professor of Clinical Law at New York University School of Law
Moderated by: Aisha Elston-Wesley, 2011-2012 Carbonell Law and Policy Fellow, New York Law School 

The final Justice Speaks lunch of the semester focused on the current issues surrounding persons seeking refugee status or asylum based on their gender or sexual orientation. Every year, thousands of people flee their home country because of persecution at the hands of their government due to their gender or sexual orientation. Not only do these particularly vulnerable groups face discrimination at home, they are often not afforded proper care and protection once they reach the United States.

The Justice Action Center would like to thank NYLS alumna Lori Adams of Human Rights First and Victoria Neilson of Immigration Equality for joining us in this discussion of the persecution and protection of refugee and asylum-seekers from these specially protected classes.

The panelists discussed: the various problems faced by gender or LGBT asylum seekers in both their home countries and within the US legal system, and the efforts put forth today to ensure the rights of these particular groups of refugee and asylum seekers.

Continuing Legal Education (CLE)
This program was approved for one hour of CLE credit in professional practice for both transitional and non-transitional attorneys.

About the Speakers:

Victoria Neilson, J.D., Legal Director at Immigration Equality and Adjunct Professor of Clinical Law at New York University School of Law

Victoria Neilson leads Immigration Equality’s pro bono asylum project and provides technical assistance and mentoring on LGBT and HIV immigration issues to attorneys around the country. She is the primary author of The LGBT/HIV Asylum Manual, a comprehensive guide for attorneys, and has published extensively on legal issues facing LGBT and HIV-positive immigrants and refugees. Ms. Neilson received her law degree from the City University School of Law and her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. Ms. Neilson is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and was a 2009 recipient of the LGBT Law Association of Greater New York (Le-Gal) Community Vision award. Ms. Neilson is the former Litigation Director at the HIV Law Project in New York and a former tenant organizer.  She currently teaches the LGBT Rights Clinic at New York University Law School as an adjunct professor.
 

Lori Adams, J.D., Managing Attorney of the Refugee Protection Program at Human Rights First

Lori Adams is the managing attorney in the Refugee Protection Program at Human Rights First where she oversees the pro bono legal representation of indigent asylum seekers. She provides support to volunteer lawyers from law firms in New York and New Jersey who represent asylum seekers at all levels of the system. She also provides information and legal services to asylum seekers in DHS detention, and helps to coordinate their legal representation. She is a member of Study Group on Immigrant Representation, launched by Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which aims to increase high-quality pro bono representation of asylum seekers and otherwise address the unmet legal needs of the immigrant poor. Ms. Adams is also a frequent speaker on immigration-related topics and a co-author of a recent report on the negative impact of the one-year filing deadline in asylum cases.

Before joining Human Rights First in 2006, Ms. Adams was the attorney advisor in the New York Immigration Court, where she drafted decisions for 28 immigration judges and supervised the work of the court’s law clerks and interns. She has also worked for the American Civil Liberties Union and for the Honorable Deborah A. Batts in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ms. Adams is a 2004 alumna from New York Law School, and a graduate of the University of Oregon with a degree in philosophy. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey.

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