“I want to help our students find their passion and give them the chance to gain practical skills while taking ownership of real legal cases so that they can enter the workforce with competency and professional responsibility.” “I am the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, so I found my passion for helping immigrants at a very early age,” said Messer, who earned her undergraduate degree at UH in English and philosophy. Messer, a UH alumna who joined the Law Center last year after a long and successful career as a private attorney focused exclusively on immigration law, hopes to cultivate the same desire to help immigrants in her students as her parents did in her. Court of Appeals in the 5th, 9th and 11th Circuits and the U.S. Over the years, clinic staff has litigated hundreds of cases, including some before the U.S. The clinic, founded in 1999 by former immigration judge and UHLC professor Joseph Vail, specializes in asylum applications for victims of persecution, domestic violence, human trafficking and crime, and those fleeing genocide, civil war or political repression. Everyone deserves proper legal representation,” said Messer. “People in the immigrant communities tend to stick together, so it’s important we get to know them and build that trust so they’ll want us to represent them. The other half are waiting to meet with asylum officers in U.S. Half of those cases, about 800,000, are pending before immigration courts in the U.S. “Our students not only provide the pro bono representation they need, but they get a top-notch educational experience as well.”Īccording to TRAC Immigration, a record 1.6 million asylum seekers are currently awaiting hearings. “These people risked everything to get here, and most of them can’t afford legal representation,” said Teresa Messer, Immigration Clinic director and professor of practice at the Law Center. But students at the University of Houston Law Center Immigration Clinic are getting a unique opportunity to help some navigate the complexities of the U.S. It can take months or even years for their cases to be heard, if they are heard at all. Online condolences and a video tribute may be viewed at Messer is a professor of practice in the UH Law Center and director of the Immigration Clinic.Īs a new year begins, time stands still on the U.S.-Mexico border for tens of thousands of migrants waiting for asylum hearings. Teresa is survived by her husband of 44 years Robert Hicks of Sheridan, daughter Christina (Chris) Fidone, son Steven (Lynn) Hicks, Grandchildren Benjamin Fidone, Brooke Hicks, Mason Hicks and William Fidone.Ī Celebration of life will be held Friday, February 15 at 6pm at Flanner and Buchanan funeral home in Zionsville, with visitation from 4-6pm. You could always see her walking around the town of Zionsville listening to her music and enjoying the sunshine. Her smile was contagious and you could feel the love always coming from her heart. She had a passionate love for her family that was the positive love and energy that flowed from her. Teresa married the love of her life Robert Hicks on October 5, 1974. Teresa graduated from Sheridan High School in 1974. Teresa was born in Indianapolis, IN on Decemto Delbert and Mary Partlow. Teresa Susan (Partlow) Hicks of Zionsville passed away at the age of 63 on Monday, February 11, 2019.
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