Our Work and Impact
Community Outreach and Education
Clinic students engage in local community outreach and education on relevant and emerging immigration topics. In this capacity, the CIRC has worked closely with the State College municipality, university police, and local organizations. The CIRC is a member of Welcoming America, a national movement of organizations and municipal governments interested in making their communities more welcoming to immigrants and refugees. The CIRC has reached hundreds of individuals and families and served as a clearinghouse for the community and nationally on changing immigration law and policy.
Policy Projects
In the policy arena, students produce white papers, practitioner toolkits, and primers of national impact for institutional clients based in Washington D.C., and across the nation.
Legal Support
The clinic has also provided legal support in individual cases of immigrants challenging deportation (removal) or seeking protection by the Department of Homeland Security and in the courts.
Honors and Awards
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Legal Organization of the Year (2019)
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Excellence in Legal Advocacy Award (2017)
"My time at CIRC was an amazing opportunity that allowed me to push myself and grow as a law student and future immigration attorney."
Nicole Bennett,, Class of 2023
Faculty Supervision
Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, Samuel Weiss Faculty Scholar and clinical professor of law at Penn State Dickinson Law, is the founding director of the CIRC. Professor Wadhia is a nationally respected immigration scholar, law professor, author, and attorney.
Wadhia has taught law courses in immigration since 2005 and received the Elmer Fried Excellence in Teaching Award from the American Immigration Lawyers Association in 2019. Since she founded the CIRC in 2008, Wadhia has provided hundreds of students with clinical training. In 2023, Wadhia was appointed as the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and she received the DHS Outstanding Service Medal in 2024 at the end of her tenure.
Related Courses
Immigration Law
This course provides students with a basic understanding of immigration law and procedure in the United States, including distinctions between immigrant, nonimmigrant, and refugee status; statutory and regulatory framework for immigration law; and the social, political, and legal influences that shape immigration law.
Asylum and Refugee Law
This class surveys the laws of political asylum and related protection for those fleeing danger in their home countries. It examines asylum and refugee law and policy in the United States, and sets forth the legal grounds for barring someone from asylum.