This past summer, I interned in the Asylum Legal Representation Program at Human Rights First (formerly the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights), in New York City. Human Rights First addresses international and domestic human rights abuses through a number of methods. The organization works to support human rights defenders in need of security or freedom, to assist refugees in the United States, and uses research and the legal system to work on international justice and accountability of basic standards around the globe. The staff consists of a highly trained and passionate group of lawyers, researchers, and activists.

The Asylum Legal Representation Program is special in that it provides direct legal representation to a considerable number of clients. There is only one attorney within the asylum program. However, the staff trains volunteer lawyers on asylum law so that they may represent the clients that come to the program. The clients, come from a range of countries, and seek security and freedom from political, religious, ethnic, or gender-based persecution.

Information about the client is gathered during a 3-4 hour, preliminary interview. As an intern in the asylum program, I worked with a highly motivated staff that consisted of legal interns, one lawyer, two legal assistants, and the program director. I was the only undergraduate intern; the bulk of my work overlapped with the responsibilities given to the other legal interns. I provided support to the program by conducting research on country conditions in order to learn about specific issues in a client’s country of origin. In addition, I updated ongoing cases by calling attorneys, clients, and pro-bono coordinators. By communicating with lawyers and their clients,

I got to see first-hand how difficult it is to seek asylum in the U.S. The asylum program conducts periodic training sessions for pro-bono attorneys before they are assigned cases through the program. I assisted in obtaining materials for the trainings. I attended meetings with pro-bono coordinators to form relationships with new firms. I felt that interactions with the volunteer lawyers were an essential element of my experience because it exposed me to some of the creative methods that the asylum program uses to appeal to the for-profit sector in order to obtain resources to help human rights claimants.

While I spent the bulk of my time at a desk, I was fortunate to work in a program that involved direct legal representation. The first interview I helped lead was with a student from Africa who told us that he was tortured by the police in his home country because of his involvement in a student movement and his affiliation with the opposition political party. After the interview, I did research on the situation in the client’s home country. Within a month of the interview, the student received asylum. While it is rare for a case to be expedited so quickly, it was incredibly satisfying to have been responsible for a piece of work that contributed to his success. On more than one occasion, I spent a number of after-work hours in the library doing extra research on the country conditions in individual countries for cases in which I had direct contact with the client. I found this area of the work particularly fulfilling and exciting because for the first time, I was doing research on a topic of interest that had an immediate and direct impact on an individual’s life.

Human Rights First also organized a series of weekly lectures to expose the interns to issues and to enable them to meet individuals who work on this problem. The lectures were organized primarily by the interns and reflected a wide range of interests and perspectives. In one, we heard from Assistant U.S. Attorney Viet Dinh on his view of immigration policies. In another, Professor Louis Henkin from Columbia Law School gave advice to a room of young activists. I enjoyed sharing my opinion on a range of topics during the lectures, and I myself organized one lecture on human trafficking and forced labor.

I graduated from Barnard College this past May with a degree in Anthropology-History. I now have a human rights fellowship. I will spend the next six months in South Africa doing outreach and public education about AIDS to migrant labor populations through an organization called the Treatment Action Campaign. Following this, I will spend another six months in India with the Lawyers’ Collective and will conduct policy research on HIV/AIDS, trafficking, and migration in New Delhi. This will be my first experience working on human rights outside the United States. Upon my return, I hope to work as an organizer for a union for one to two years before applying for law school. I aim to use a law degree to continue working on international human rights, with a specific focus on migrant labor, health, forced migration, and gender rights. Because it allowed me to learn about the asylum system in the U.S., my experience working in the asylum program at Human Rights First was incredibly useful in furthering these plans. I hope to apply this knowledge in my work abroad this coming year and in my work as a lawyer.