Deportation, Due Process, and the Fight for Rights
Saturday, September 26, 2026
Registration: 9:30 a.m.
Conference: 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Emory Law, Tull Auditorium
The past eighteen months have brought sweeping changes to immigration enforcement, from expanded detention to mounting pressure on due process protections.
This conference gathers attorneys and advocates on the front lines of this work to talk through what's actually happening at the border, inside detention facilities, and in the courtroom, and to build the practical skills needed to keep fighting for clients in this landscape. Come ready to learn, strategize, and take care of yourself while doing this work.
The EPIC Conference is free and open to all members of the community. Lunch will be provided, and CLE credits will be available for attorneys (4.5 Georgia general CLE credits pending approval).
Remote attendance option available - please register and select remote attendance to receive the link.
Please note that CLE credits are not available for remote attendance. Emory Law students: remote attendance does not satisfy your EPIC Grant attendance requirement.
Conference Schedule
9:30 A.M. – CHECK-IN, WELCOME (COFFEE PROVIDED)
10:00 A.M. TO 10:15 A.M. – WELCOME, ANNOUNCEMENTS & OVERVIEW
Dean of Emory Law, Director for the Center for Public Service, EPIC Conference Co-Chairs
10:15 A.M. TO 10:35 A.M. – Session 1 [Enforcement & Policy Overview]
An overview of current immigration enforcement policy and programs and racially targeted arrest practices, laying the groundwork for a discussion about the current legal immigration landscape.
Speaker: Sofía Montez (Project South)
10:35 A.M. TO 11:15 A.M. – Session 2 [Arrest Into ICE Custody Panel]
A moderated panel on the earliest stages of immigration enforcement - from initial contact through ICE custody, ICE's collaboration with local law enforcement, the legal standards (e.g. reasonable suspicion) that govern stops and detentions, and how racial profiling and shifting enforcement priorities across administrations shape who ends up in the system.
Speakers: Meredyth Yoon 14L (Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta), Jenny R. Hernandez 12L (City of Atlanta Office of the Public Defender), Matthew Boles (Manji Law; American Immigration Lawyers’ Assoc. (AILA) ICE Liaison)
Moderator: Sofia Montez
11:25 A.M. TO 12:00 P.M. – Session 3 [Personal Account: Detention & DACA]
Alex shares his personal account of being detained and repeatedly transferred, and his story as a DACA recipient who arrived in the U.S. from Argentina as a young child, reflecting on the limitations of DACA and the need for reform.
Speaker: Alex (Student Speaker)
Moderator: Silas Allard 11T 11L 25G (Professor at Emory School of Law)
12:00 P.M. TO 12:40 P.M. – Session 4 [Detention Panel]
A discussion of conditions inside Georgia's detention centers along with the legal tools available to challenge those conditions.
Speakers: Courtney O’Donnell 10L (Southern Poverty Law Center), Amir Naim (Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network (GAIN)), Stephanie Alvarez-Jones (National Immigration Project)
12:45 P.M. – 1:30 P.M. LUNCH BREAK (LUNCH PROVIDED)
1:30 P.M. TO 2:00 P.M. – Session 5 [Immigration Court & Due Process Presentation]
An overview of how the immigration court system works, from bond hearings and access to counsel to the removal process, and how structural limits on judicial independence shape outcomes for people navigating the system.
Speaker: Adriana Heffley (Legal Director, GAIN)
2:00 P.M. TO 2:40 P.M. – Session 6 [Immigration Court & Due Process Panel]
Panelists build on the presentation to discuss what due process looks like in practice today, including available defenses against removal, strategies for contesting cases, and the broader challenges of securing due process for clients within a system with limited judicial independence.
Speakers: Christina Thomas (Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP; Former Managing Director of Kids in Need of Defense (KiND) - Atlanta), Emily Davis 15L (Emory Law Adjunct Professor; Attorney at Ross & Pines, LLC), Maria Rodriguez (KiND - Atlanta)
2:40 P.M. TO 3:10 P.M. – Session 7 [What's Next: Advocacy + Reform]
A discussion about trauma informed lawyering, grassroots community building, and opportunities for law student involvement - closing with a call to action.
Speakers: Collin Mickle (Tahirih Justice Center), Will Miller (Immigration Clinic at GSU Law), Jin Lee (Immigrant Hope)
3:10 P.M. TO 3:15 P.M. – CLOSING REMARKS