"We have many undocumented children in
Kentucky. And I think our biggest hurdle is
educating people that they're here, not just
in Texas or California," Abrams said. "Many
people have no idea about the depth of
our international community here, specifi-
cally in Louisville."
Other law schools in major coastal cities
have built these types of initiatives using
fellowship-type programs. Abrams was
familiar with one issued through her alma
mater, American University. With the pro-
fessors' combined interest in immigration
law, the idea to get a similar program going
here was an exciting culmination to a transi-
tional grant provided by the Louisville Bar
Foundation.
Abrams and Trucios-Haynes are both aim-
ing for the Human Rights Fellowship to
have a sustained presence at Brandeis
School of Law and to continue and acceler-
ate work with the rest of the community on
human rights issues.
"I hope to build something that is lasting
and will provide assistance to our local
community – both service providers and
the immigrant/refugee/noncitizen commu-
nity," Trucios-Haynes said.
Once a dent has been made in the re-
search and execution of the immigration
project, the Brandeis Human Rights Fellow-
ship's focus could shift to other topics, such
as women in detention centers, educational
access or wage issues. The objective, how-
ever, will remain the same.
"Our dream is for this work to be collabora-
tive between our students, faculty, alumni
and community. There is a lot of work be-
ing done right now, but it's being done
mostly as piecemeal," Abrams said. "There
is a significant community need for these
types of services and we will be more effec-
tive if we meet these needs holistically."
39
B&B; • 7.15
C O L U M N S
U of L
REUNION
U OF L NIGHT
LAW SCHOOL
CLASS OF
1979-80
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Classmates/interested
colleagues welcome.
For inquiries/email updates contact:
plarkin1946@gmail.com
Volunteer Reunion Committee: Nancy Gall-Clayton, Ellen
Friedman, Carol Scheele and Pat Larkin.
R A B S L I ' R O ( ! / 2 0 F FF I $ ! F / E S R R O L O # T N E R E F