CGRS Welcomes Equal Justice Works Fellow Anne Dutton

November 7, 2017 - CGRS is delighted to welcome Anne Dutton, our new Equal Justice Works Emerson Fellow. Before joining CGRS, Anne worked for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service’s policy office, engaging in Congressional and administrative advocacy on issues related to unaccompanied children, immigration detention, and refugee and asylum law. Anne received her bachelor’s degree in social work from St. Olaf College and her J.D. and Master of Social Work from the University of Minnesota. While in law school, she served as a student director of the Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic and was an editor of the Minnesota Law Review. Anne also interned with CGRS and with the Executive Office of Immigration Review at the Bloomington (Minnesota) Immigration Court.

Anne’s work at CGRS will focus on advancing children’s asylum claims in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Kansas City – jurisdictions where immigration judges deny the vast majority of cases that come before them. Working with local attorneys, Anne will be identifying cases involving child applicants from Central America that are pending at the immigration court level and have the potential to serve as model cases. She will serve as lead counsel on these cases, working to develop strong records that will help contribute to positive outcomes for asylum seeking children in the jurisdictions where they are heard and will contribute to evolving jurisprudence. Anne will also be closely monitoring and intervening in key appellate cases from these jurisdictions to develop precedent that advances protections for children throughout the circuit. In addition to her litigation work, Anne will be providing training and technical assistance on the legal and psychosocial complexities of representing child asylum seekers to pro bono attorneys working in the Atlanta, Charlotte, and Kansas City jurisdictions. Anne commenced this project earlier this month, when she traveled to Kansas City for the launch of the city’s new Center of Excellence program. At the launch, Anne spoke to advocates from legal services organizations, immigration law firms, and pro bono programs about CGRS’s role as a member of the Centers of Excellence and provided an overview of the training and technical assistance services we offer. She also helped facilitate a training on best practices for working with country conditions and forensic psychological experts in immigration court proceedings.