The Detention and Deportation Defense Initiative (“DDDI” or “Initiative”) is a state-funded program that provides pro bono immigration counsel to indigent New Jerseyans in removal proceedings. Seton Hall Law’s Immigrants' Rights/International Human Rights Clinic of the Center for Social Justice has participated in DDDI since its launch in 2018, along with Legal Services of New Jersey (LSNJ), American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and Rutgers Newark Law School’s Immigrant Rights Clinic.
New Jersey has been one of the key states at the forefront of expanding access to counsel for noncitizens facing deportation and family separation. In 2016, as part of Judge Michael Chagares’s Working Group on Immigrant Representation in New Jersey, Seton Hall Law’s Immigrants' Rights/International Human Rights Clinic issued a report entitled Deportation Without Representation: The Access-to-Justice Crisis Facing New Jersey's Immigrant Families. The report revealed that only about one-third of detainees in New Jersey had access to legal representation during the length of the study. Following the publication of the study, under the leadership of Professor Lori A. Nessel, Seton Hall Law’s Immigrants’ Rights/International Human Rights Clinic worked together with several community organizations and legal associations to raise awareness about this issue. The State of New Jersey then funded a pilot project that provided legal representation to detained individuals with low incomes at risk of deportation. The funding has been renewed each year under the direction of Governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Legislature. Most recently, the state of New Jersey allocated $8.2 million for fiscal year 2023-2024, thus continuing its support of access to counsel for noncitizens in New Jersey. Legal Services of New Jersey coordinates the funding from the State and Seton Hall Law School receives its funding as a sub-grantee of LSNJ.
Seton Hall Law School’s component of the DDDI provides opportunities for clinical, pro bono, and extern students to gain hands-on experience representing detained and formerly detained noncitizens fighting deportation. Students are involved in all aspects of the case work, from initial interviews and certification drafting, to country conditions research, appearance in immigration hearings, and drafting federal appellate briefs.
Learn more about the work of the DDDI here:
Thousands of Hours Dedicated to Fighting for the Rights of New Jersey Immigrants
The program is directed by Professor Lori A. Nessel and staffed by Associate Clinical Professor Glykeria Teji, Managing Attorney Susan G. Roy and Practitioner in Residence Kimberly Medina, Immigration Detention Fellows Corinna Goodman, Patricia Laureano and Paulina Leyva Hernandez, and Paralegals Valeria Barcia and Brenda Araniva. Current Seton Hall Law students who are interested in volunteering with the program should contact Glykeria Teji.
Professor of Law
J.D., CUNY School of Law |
B.A., University of California
[email protected] | 973-642-8700 | Rm 220
Associate Clinical Professor
S.J.D., Widener University, Delaware Law School |
LL.M., Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
[email protected]
Managing Attorney
J.D., Georgetown University Law Center |
M.A., Eagleton Insitute of Politics at Rutgers University |
B.A., Rutgers University
[email protected]
Practitioner in Residence
J.D., University of Minnesota Law School |
B.A., University of South Carolina
[email protected]
Detention Fellow
J.D., Northwestern Pritzker School of Law |
B.A., Skidmore College
[email protected]
Detention Fellow
J.D., Seton Hall Law School |
B.A., Ramapo College of New Jersey
[email protected]
Detention Fellow
J.D./M.A., City University of New York School of Law |
B.A., City University of New York
[email protected]
Paralegal
B.S., New Jersey City University
[email protected]
Paralegal
B.S., Rutgers University
[email protected]
If you have an immigration-related matter or would like to refer a case to the Detention and Deportation Defense Initiative, please call the number listed below or email us at [email protected]. Since the CSJ can only accept a limited number of cases each year, our staff strives to provide an appropriate referral or links to online resources when we cannot take a case.
Seton Hall University School of Law
Center for Social Justice
833 McCarter Highway
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Phone: (973) 642-8700, M-F, 9-5
Email: [email protected]
Furthermore, Seton Hall Law School faculty and students conduct Know Your Rights sessions in the community. Contact us at [email protected] if you are interested in hosting a community education session on immigration law.
