A group of volunteers based out of a USC Dornsife program established a free hotline to help those with in-person immigration hearings file motions to move their appointments online.
The service is made possible through the Agents of Change Civil Rights Advocacy Initiativespearheaded by program founder and political science and international relations professor Olu Orange. It’s supported by Orange’s private law firm, Orange Law Office, and the National Immigration Project (NIP).
It is not affiliated with the USC Gould School of Law, or its Immigration Law Clinic. The clinic reposted the hotline number and clarified they were not involved, advising individuals to consult with a “qualified legal service provider” before filing motions in immigration hearings.
Calls to the Agents of Change hotline go directly to the phone numbers of about 15 volunteers. Whoever’s available takes down the caller’s name and case number, then helps them fill out paperwork to request that their immigration-related court hearing be moved online.
Each of the unpaid volunteers are a USC student, faculty or alumni, or the trusted friend of a current volunteer. It is Orange who ultimately files the motion by mail and e-mail. He said there was no guarantee that motions would pass, nor does the hotline have the capacity to offer legal advice.
The hotline went live on Sunday. By Wednesday, they had already received thousands of calls from across the country and internationally, averaging up to 10 calls a minute every hour, Orange said.
Orange said he was motivated to establish the hotline after learning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were arresting people while they were at court awaiting immigration hearings.
“The fact that [migrants] have a case in court means that they’re following the legal processes that they’re supposed to. And when they do that and they report to their court date, they’re being seized,” Orange said.
He reached out to a friend at the NIP, who showed him it was possible to change the format of upcoming immigration hearings to online. Orange established the hotline to ensure people knew online hearings were an option and to help them properly submit motions.
“A lot of the people who have immigration hearings coming up are not represented by counsel, so they’ve got to do all this stuff themselves, unless they have somebody helping,” Orange said. “We endeavor to do that with Agents of Change.”
Agents of Change is a program through Dornsife that allows students to do work in community advocacy, government policy work and legal advocacy, and emerged from Orange’s work directing the USC Mock Trial team.
Hannah Croulet, a senior studying law, history and culture who was one of the first volunteers with the hotline, said she was not expecting the service to get so much attention so quickly.
“I had to completely shut off my phone last night because I couldn’t get to sleep, there were so many calls,” Croulet said.
The hotline is available for use by anyone, anywhere, and may be reached at 888-462-5211. Services are available in both English and Spanish.
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