معرفی
Jaclyn Kelley-Widmer serves as Clinical Professor of Law at Cornell Law School, where she founded and directs the pioneering 1L Immigration Law & Advocacy Clinic (ILAC) and leads Path2Papers – a pro bono initiative securing work visas and residency pathways for DACA recipients. She teaches first-year Lawyering, advanced Immigration Clinic, and migration law seminars, training students in direct client representation and national advocacy.
Her educational foundation includes a J.D. from University of Michigan Law School and B.A. in writing/Spanish from Ithaca College, enabling her bilingual advocacy for immigrant communities. Professor Kelley-Widmer's research examines immigration law's intersection with administrative and criminal frameworks, alongside clinical pedagogy innovations.
Her scholarship appears in leading journals including Brooklyn Law Review, Clinical Law Review, Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, and Michigan Journal of Race and Law, with commentary in Washington Post and NPR. Media outlets regularly feature her expertise on emerging immigration issues, as seen in Al Jazeera, U.S. News and World Report, and Spotify analyses of detention policies.
Her notable recognition includes:
- Equal Justice Works Fellowship for immigrant youth representation at La Raza Centro Legal
Through ILAC, she mentors students providing legal services to immigrants across Cornell and national detention centers in New York, Louisiana, and Texas. The Path2Papers initiative recently secured a $1.5 million grant to expand DACA recipient support. She serves on Ithaca Welcomes Refugees' advisory board and maintains active membership in the California Bar, American Immigration Lawyers Association, and Finger Lakes Women’s Bar Association.
Fluent in Spanish, Professor Kelley-Widmer combines clinical practice with scholarly contributions at immigration law's forefront, directing students in high-impact cases like securing parole for rare-language speakers and challenging ICE language access violations at Louisiana facilities.
