Panelists offered a frank and engaging briefing on their front-line experiences related to immigration when they met recently with a group of UMRA members in a conference room provided by the University of Minnesota Foundation at the McNamara Alumni Center. 

On Monday, March 2, UMRA members had an opportunity to hear from a panel of legal experts about the immigration situation at the Texas-Mexico border, and to learn about the large number of international students who come to the University. 

Karen Schanfield and Eddie Ocampo, both attorneys, and paralegal Rachael Crane talked about their experiences advising immigrant women at the Karnes County Residential Center in South Texas, just north of the border. Karnes is owned by The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO), a private prison company, and operated by GEO in conjunction with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Karnes can hold just over 800 people.  

Schanfield, Ocampo, and Crane, all Spanish-speaking and from the Minneapolis law firm Fredrickson and Byron PA, were at the facility as volunteers for a week in September 2019. They described the facility as a prison-like setting that has numerous strictly enforced rules. People in the facility came from many countries in Africa and Latin America, as well as Cuba and Mexico. They spoke many languages, including some for which translation services are not always available. The women the Minneapolis volunteers saw were seeking asylum under U.S. and international law. 

The volunteers were able to counsel several women each day, but many were moved during the week so the number of women the volunteers saw decreased dramatically each day. The women were moved to detention facilities in other states, often with little notice. The volunteers succeeded in getting the paperwork in order for many of the women so that some of the work needed for their asylum hearings was completed in advance.

Barriers to entry

The experience gave the volunteers the impression that the barriers to entry imposed by regulations created a difficult and very delayed opportunity for the migrants to assert their cases. The movement to other facilities and the handling of the migrants’ claims for asylum effectively created a deterrent to remain in the U.S., regardless of the merits of their claims. 

We also heard from Marissa Hill-Dongre from the University’s International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS). Marissa is an immigration attorney who is also the director of the U’s Immigration Response Team. She has worked for ISSS for 10 years and has comprehensive knowledge of immigration matters that affect the University. She gave a great presentation of the issues facing the University and the large number of international students we have recruited to our campuses. 

Currently, the University has 5,973 international students, which constitutes just under 12 percent of enrollment. Our international students are from 130 different locations in the world but almost 80 percent are from Asia.

In response to questions, Marissa provided the following links for additional information about immigration, the University program, and volunteer opportunities:  

• ISSS annual reports: https://isss.umn.edu/publications/annual-report.html

• Immigration statistics: trac.syr.edu

• Court observation volunteer opportunities: law.umn.edu/james-h-binger-center-new-americans/volunteer-opportunities and theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/volunteer

• Information about the University's Dream Fund, managed by the Immigration Response Team: immigration.umn.edu/take-action/dream-fund-application

Our thanks to all four panelists for their wonderful, engaging presentations!

—Bill Donohue, president