Nebraska immigration clinic closing, impacts to community

“Are people going to stay or even come to school at Nebraska law, if there's other programs that offer immigration clinics and will foster that passion more,” immigration clinic student said.

Read the full article on KETV 7

In less than a week, a decades-long UNL immigration law clinic is ending.A hands-on learning program, which the UNL College of Law has offered since 1988, is coming to a close May 2.“Definitely a really popular clinic and one that provided a very steady pipeline for immigration attorneys here in Nebraska,” Roxana Cortes-Mills, with the Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement, said.Cortes-Mills, with the CIRA, said at least half of the CIRA attorneys came from the UNL clinic, including herself.“I owe being an immigration attorney to Kevin and his clinic,” she said.Kevin Ruser, the professor running the program, said the clinic started with just two students per year.“2018 is when a bunch of malcontent students went to the dean and said, ‘We need to expand the immigration clinic,’” Ruser said. “That’s the first year that we expanded it to eight students.”It eventually became a sought-after opportunity for aspiring lawyers.“I applied here because of the immigration clinic,” Laura Vivas, an immigration clinic student, said.Since the announcement of the closing, current students have been tasked with breaking the news to some of the clinic’s longstanding clients.“We weren’t sure how our client was going to take it,” Elena Pellumbi, current student, said. “But he was very grateful of everything we’ve done over the years for him.”Ruser said the clinic accepts between 30 and 40 current and new cases every semester.Cases CIRA will embrace once the clinic closes.“People who would have normally gone to the immigration clinic might begin to come to us or might want to be added to our waitlist,” Cortes-Mills said.Ruser said he chose to step down to do more classroom-style teaching.“Wish my timing would’ve been better, but yes, ideally I would have liked somebody to come in and replace me so that we could have kept this experience,” he said.But no professors rose to the occasion.This year, the University of Nebraska suffered a $27 million budget cut, with the option for staff to take voluntary separation offers.The Nebraska law program’s 2025 report shows the college has 85 full- and part-time faculty members.The College of Law’s dean said two of their staff will retire this semester and another will retire in December, and said, they “cannot hire for the clinic because we lost numerous salary positions over the last several years of significant budget cuts.”“Increased enforcement and, with policy changing so continuously,” Cortes-Mills explained. “There’s more than ever there’s a need for a qualified immigration representation.”According to the Deportation Data Project, in the first 10 months of 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained over 1,200 people in Nebraska, a more than 300% increase from the same time frame in 2024.But Cortes-Mills and Ruser said he will try to keep the hands-on experience alive in his next teaching endeavor.“It is my hope to incorporate some experiential opportunities into that course,” he said.While current students are working to close up the cases at the clinic, uncertainty looms about the future of immigration attorneys in the state.“Are people going to stay or even come to school at Nebraska law, if there’s other programs that offer immigration clinics and will foster that passion more,” Jessica Valdez, current clinic student, said.But Ruser said programs come and go, and he hopes a similar experience will present itself in the near future.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |

, Neb. —

In less than a week, a decades-long UNL immigration law clinic is ending.

A hands-on learning program, which the UNL College of Law has offered since 1988, is coming to a close May 2.

“Definitely a really popular clinic and one that provided a very steady pipeline for immigration attorneys here in Nebraska,” Roxana Cortes-Mills, with the Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement, said.

Cortes-Mills, with the CIRA, said at least half of the CIRA attorneys came from the UNL clinic, including herself.

“I owe being an immigration attorney to Kevin and his clinic,” she said.

Kevin Ruser, the professor running the program, said the clinic started with just two students per year.

“2018 is when a bunch of malcontent students went to the dean and said, ‘We need to expand the immigration clinic,’” Ruser said. “That’s the first year that we expanded it to eight students.”

It eventually became a sought-after opportunity for aspiring lawyers.

“I applied here because of the immigration clinic,” Laura Vivas, an immigration clinic student, said.

Since the announcement of the closing, current students have been tasked with breaking the news to some of the clinic’s longstanding clients.

“We weren’t sure how our client was going to take it,” Elena Pellumbi, current student, said. “But he [longstanding client] was very grateful of everything we’ve done over the years for him.”

Ruser said the clinic accepts between 30 and 40 current and new cases every semester.

Cases CIRA will embrace once the clinic closes.

“People who would have normally gone to the immigration clinic might begin to come to us or might want to be added to our waitlist,” Cortes-Mills said.

Ruser said he chose to step down to do more classroom-style teaching.

“Wish my timing would’ve been better, but yes, ideally I would have liked somebody to come in and replace me so that we could have kept this experience,” he said.

But no professors rose to the occasion.

This year, the University of Nebraska suffered a $27 million budget cut, with the option for staff to take voluntary separation offers.

The Nebraska law program’s 2025 report shows the college has 85 full- and part-time faculty members.

The College of Law’s dean said two of their staff will retire this semester and another will retire in December, and said, they “cannot hire for the clinic because we lost numerous salary positions over the last several years of significant budget cuts.”

“Increased enforcement and, with policy changing so continuously,” Cortes-Mills explained. “There’s more than ever there’s a need for a qualified immigration representation.”

According to the Deportation Data Project, in the first 10 months of 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained over 1,200 people in Nebraska, a more than 300% increase from the same time frame in 2024.

But Cortes-Mills and Ruser said he will try to keep the hands-on experience alive in his next teaching endeavor.

“It is my hope to incorporate some experiential opportunities into that course,” he said.

While current students are working to close up the cases at the clinic, uncertainty looms about the future of immigration attorneys in the state.

“Are people going to stay or even come to school at Nebraska law, if there’s other programs that offer immigration clinics and will foster that passion more,” Jessica Valdez, current clinic student, said.

But Ruser said programs come and go, and he hopes a similar experience will present itself in the near future.