HUSL Border Rights Project

Initiated by the Education Rights Center and E. Christi Cunningham, the Border Rights Project serves individuals and families seeking asylum at the USA Border. This project brings Howard Students to the frontlines of the immigration crisis to offer legal and interpreter services.

In my first year at Howard, I signed up for this week-long Spring Break service project as a way to assist those in need with my language and legal skills. It was an emotional and demanding week, sharing in the highs and lows of those who had risked their lives to reach Tijuana in search of a safe future for themselves and their families. A generous donation covering all flight and hotel expenses made our work possible.

At the start of my second year, I worked diligently to organize three times as many volunteers to travel to three locations. Our volunteer team spoke five languages and funded all travel expenses through fundraising and grants. Unfortunately, COVID-19 forced us to cancel our flights the week before the trip. With uncertainty about being able to reenter the USA if we left, and many students having to make emergency plans as campus shut down, we were still able to coordinate available students to volunteer remotely.

In my final year at Howard, I worked with La Alianza, the Latin American law student association, to organize a remote volunteer cohort. We created a new chair and sub-chair position in the organization to oversee the project and allow for continuity from year to year.