collaborative efforts

This week has been super busy! So I've been working on the Prairie View, Texas case; however, this week I was given a new assignment. Working with some other interns over at the Brennan Center for Justice (at NYU Law School), I've been poring over hundreds of pages of Congressional testimony. I can't really give any specifics as to what I'm doing with the testimony, but the end result should be very exciting. The last joint project the Lawyers' Committee did with the Brennan Center resulted in a press conference at the National Press Club. It was very exhilarating to watch the last press conference. Hopefully, all this work will go towards another press conference or a Congressional briefing. I should be finishing up this work by the end of the week and should be back on track with the Prairie View case.

I've also been trying to get more involved in our Emerging Communities Initiative. This newly started program seeks to empower recent and generally overlooked immigrant communities, such as the Hmong or Somalis, by educating them about their legal and political rights. In particular, we are trying to stress the importance of political participation and the benefits that can be reaped through civic action. We'll see how this goes in the weeks to come.