The first volunteer trip involved twelve law students, including first years, as well as one fellow and one faculty member over a Winter Break week in 2018-19 at the largest immigrant family detention center in the country: the South Texas Family Residential Center (STFRC) in Dilley, Texas (approximately 80 minutes southwest of San Antonio).  Since then, Georgetown Law students have regularly volunteered over Spring and Winter breaks to assist these detained asylum seekers.  Generous gifts from alumni April and John Delaney as well as Sam Lambroza, and a gift from the John and Kathleen Schreiber Foundation have funded this service project.

In January 2023, a team of 12 Georgetown Law students traveled to Dilley, Texas to provide critical legal support to detained, low-income asylum seekers. Under the supervision of attorneys from Proyecto Dilley, students prepared detained women for their Credible Fear Interviews (CFIs), the first step in the daunting process of seeking asylum in the U.S. Students also conducted group legal orientations, shared information about the immigration court process with women awaiting release and worked with women who received negative credible fear findings to prepare for immigration judge review. The students, all of whom are proficient or fluent in Spanish, substantially increased Proyecto Dilley’s capacity to provide individual consultations and interview preparation sessions. In addition, students had the opportunity to explore asylum law and direct client services, many for the first time. In total, students worked with 90 detained women, and a majority of the women students prepared for their CFIs received positive determinations and will continue to pursue asylum cases in the U.S.

GULC students traveled to Texas over spring break to volunteer at an immigrant detention center.