Professor Amelia Wilson, Expert in Immigration Law, Joins the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University

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The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University is pleased to announce that Amelia Wilson will join its faculty as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Immigration Justice Clinic (“IJC”). In her role as Director of the IJC, Professor Wilson will also assume clinical teaching responsibilities. The IJC is part of John Jay Legal Services, Inc., a not-for-profit legal services firm that houses and runs the clinic and externship programs at Haub Law. Previously, Professor Wilson was an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Immigrants’ Rights/International Human Rights Clinic at Seton Hall School of Law.

"The Elisabeth Haub School of Law has a preeminent reputation for its clinical offerings,” said Professor Wilson. “I’m very excited to become the new Director of the Immigration Justice Clinic, which is making a direct and positive impact in providing free representation for immigrants and helping students gain experience towards a career in immigration law. I look forward to bringing my research interests and passion for immigrants’ rights and international human rights to Haub Law and learning from the faculty and students at the law school as well.”

Prior to joining Seton Hall School of Law, Professor Wilson served for four years as Supervising Attorney, Research Scholar and Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School where she co-taught the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic. Professor Wilson has been practicing in the area of immigration law since 2005 and has represented hundreds of individuals as they navigate our detention and deportation system. She specializes in representing noncitizens with mental health disabilities, and her research and scholarship focus on safeguarding the due process rights of this particularly vulnerable population. In addition to teaching, writing, and engaging in direct legal services, Professor Wilson helped the Department of Justice build the first (and to date, only) government-funded appointed counsel system for any immigrant group. Professor Wilson received her JD from the University of Minnesota Law School and her BA from the University of Iowa.

“The Immigration Justice Clinic is one of our flagship clinical programs at Haub Law and I am thrilled that Professor Wilson, who has an extensive background in immigration law, will be joining our law school community,” said Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University Dean Horace E. Anderson Jr. “Her practical experience along with her scholarship in the area of immigrants’ rights will guide our students as they assist clients in the Immigration Justice Clinic and as they learn in the classroom.”

The Immigration Justice Clinic was founded by Professor Vanessa Merton in 2004 and began serving clients in the spring of 2005. For 20 years, through her retirement and passing in 2024, Professor Merton served as the Director of and taught in the IJC, which provides free legal services to noncitizens who otherwise could not afford legal assistance. These services include representing clients in their applications for asylum or family-based status, in removal proceedings at state and federal detention facilities, and on petitions for crime victims and juvenile immigrants. IJC Student Attorneys litigate in the Immigration Court, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the federal courts. They also conduct community “Know Your Rights” programs, engage in legislative advocacy, and have spent several spring breaks volunteering at immigrant detention centers on the southern border. The IJC and Professor Merton have successfully prepared hundreds of students for careers in immigration law, private firms, independent law offices, nonprofit agencies, and prestigious post-graduate fellowships.