briefs
PROF. EMILY RYO AWARDED FELLOWSHIPS TO SUPPORT IMMIGRATION RESEARCH
“ Because of these deep ties between criminal justice and immigration enforcement, efforts to dismantle the mass incarceration system must also address what is happening with immigration detention.”
Emily Ryo, professor of law and sociology at USC Gould, was named an inaugural fellow by The Justice Collaborative Institute and an Access to Justice Scholar by the American Bar Foundation in partnership with The JPB Foundation. The fellowships will provide Ryo with varied opportunities to further her academic research into the nature and impacts of immigration enforcement and detention, as well as access to justice for immigrants facing deportation. Ryo says she sees The Justice Collaborative fellowship as a chance to further her current research focused on immigration detention, and the ways that the immigration enforcement system becomes entangled with the criminal justice system. “Because of these deep ties between criminal justice and immigration enforcement, efforts to dismantle the mass incarceration system must also address what is happening
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USCLaw magazine
with immigration detention,” she says. “My hope as an inaugural fellow at the institute is to further that goal by advancing a greater public understanding of the causes, conditions and consequences of immigration detention.” —Emily Ryo The ABF/JPB Foundation scholars program will enable Ryo to continue her research on immigration courts, and the gap between the supply and demand for legal services for immigrants facing deportation. Her research also seeks to better understand the impact of legal representation on case outcomes. “My goal as an Access to Justice Scholar is to advance a new and broader understanding of barriers to access to justice for immigrants,” Ryo says. “Understanding whether and to what extent the impact of legal representation might be limited or amplified by the decision-maker who happens to be assigned to a case has significant policy implications for the
training of immigration judges and for ensuring fair processes and outcomes in immigration cases.” The Justice Collaborative Institute was founded in 2019 to bring together top scholars around the country for research on and public engagement with justice reform. The Access to Justice Scholars Program supports leading scholars in their research with networking opportunities and mentorship from experienced senior scholars. Ryo, a professor at USC Gould since 2013, received a JD from Harvard Law School and a PhD in sociology from Stanford University.
—Ruby Callahan
