With immigrants’ rights in the headlines around the world right now, Dannelly Bello and Claudine-Annick Murphy’s appointments to the Immigrant Justice Corp fellowship class strikes an especially resonant chord in the Cardozo sphere.
Bello and Murphy were among 25 graduates from top law schools around the country who were chosen for the fellowships at IJC, a program founded by Robert A. Katzmann, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the second circuit, in 2013. Since its inception, IJC has served 28,000 immigrants and their families.
Both members of the class of ’17, Bello and Murphy will begin their fellowships in September and embark upon a two-year commitment helping immigrants who are facing deportation in and around New York City.
Murphy said, “Mostly what inspired me to pursue a career as an immigration advocate was growing up with my mother [a German immigrant] and being reminded every day of her nostalgia for her home and her struggle in navigating the United States as an outsider despite living here for almost 26 years. Because of this upbringing, I really don't know how to remove the influence of immigrant perspectives from my endeavor to learn about the world around me. It is such a part of me that there is no way I can think about my life without considering immigrants’ issues.”
“I pursued a law school that had a strong immigrants' rights department, “said Murphy. “I had heard about Cardozo’s IJC. And I’m so grateful for the experience I got there.”
Murphy will be working directly with the Immigrant Justice Corps, and specifically chose to work with families who are facing deportation.
Bello, the daughter of Dominican immigrants, said being part of the IJC was the “best experience of law school. It taught me how to think creatively and navigate the law.”
Bellow will work with the Brooklyn Defender Service, a NYIFU project that is the only program in the country that receives federal funds for representation of immigrants who have been arrested.
Murphy said an internship she had with a nonprofit organization that provides immigrant legal services connected her to a young girl from Honduras who had been sold into prostitution at the age of thirteen. Her drive to get an education and become an engineer was inspirational, said Murphy. “My experience speaking with her showed me that by helping immigrants achieve stability and the opportunity to direct their own lives, we can have an impact not only on their lives, but on the lives of their children and their children's children, which can spark exponential positive change.”
