Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2023
Keywords
law school clinics, law school teaching, clinical pedagogy, immigration law
Abstract
This article explores clinical teaching philosophies related to anti-carceral theory and provides examples of how to support student learning in clinics serving immigrant clients. Anti-carceral theory in this context is used to refer to an approach that resists criminalization and incarceration within law, drawing on abolitionism, intersectional and anti-carceral feminism, and decolonization.
The anti-carceral lens provides framing and language to name the dynamics of social exclusion and discrimination inherent in immigration law. It also allows us to unpack immigration regulation as a series of choices made within the larger context of law enforcement and its systems of surveillance, policing, and confinement. This article is meant to encourage clinical faculty to integrate anti-carceral theory into teaching as a means for students to critically explore the law and their roles as advocates.
Recommended Citation
Balgamwalla, Sabrina and Bartlett, Lauren, Anti-Carceral Theory and Immigration: A View from Two Law School Clinics. Saint Louis University Law Journal, Vol. 67, No. 3, Teaching Immigration Law (Spring 2023), Saint Louis U. Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2023-11, Wayne State University Law School Research Paper No. 2023-67.