Immigrant & Non-Citizen Rights

Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility

CUNY CLEAR is a project rooted in CUNY School of Law's relationship with community-based organizations whose members wish to shape and respond to national security and counter-terrorism policies and practices affecting them. It is a cross-clinical project between the Immigrant & Non-Citizen Rights Clinic, directed by Professor Ramzi Kassem, and the Defenders Clinic, directed by Professor Steve Zeidman. CLEAR is predominantly staffed by law students from both clinics in their final year of study, working under the supervision of law faculty.

The CLEAR project primarily aims to address the unmet legal needs of Muslim, Arab, South Asian, and other communities in the New York City area that are particularly affected by national security and counter-terrorism policies and practices. Since the project's inception in 2009, our work has developed along three axes:

• Legal representation & consultation
  CLEAR teams represent and advise community members as they respond to requests for voluntary FBI interviews, during searches by law enforcement, as they consider charitable giving options, and in the course of overseas and domestic travel. CLEAR representatives also offer advice and information around the potential criminal and immigration consequences that may result from national security and counter-terrorism policies and practices.
  
  
• Know-Your-Rights presentations
  CLEAR teams have given know-your-rights (KYR) presentations at mosques and other community centers on how to interact with law enforcement, on informants and infiltration, on charitable giving, and on travel.
  
  
• Documentation campaigns
  CLEAR teams assist local organizations with documentation campaigns that aim to canvass affected populations in order to record encounters with law enforcement and the impact of national security and counter-terrorism policies and practices.

CLEAR services are provided free of charge.

Professors/Supervising Attorneys

• Ramzi Kassem
• Steve Zeidman
• Nicole Smith Futrell
• Diala Shamas

Contact

E-mail: cunyclear@law.cuny.edu
Phone: (718) 340-4558

For more info on CUNY CLEAR, visit our website »