Christopher Owens

Chris will be joining Al Otro Lado’s Border Rights Project in Tijuana, Mexico, where he will assist in strategic litigation to secure the individual right to apply for asylum and to protect against the dismantling of the international refugee system by the U.S. and Mexican governments.In addition to providing representation in immigration court, Chris and Al Otro Lado will utilize habeas corpus, constitutional and federal tort claims, and international law, to respond to the rapidly changing policies and circumstances impacting asylum seekers in the Americas. As a law student, Chris participated in NYU’s Immigrant Defense and Housing Rights Clinics, and spent his summers with Human Rights First’s Refugee Representation Unit and in the chambers of the Hon. Juan R. Torruella of the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Prior to law school, Chris worked with human rights and immigration advocacy organizations in North, Central and South America. He received his B.A. from Brown University, a masters of public policy and Latin American studies from the University of Michigan, and a J.D. from New York University School of Law, where he was Senior Notes Editor of the NYU Journal of International Law and Politics. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, and proficient in French and German.

Fellowship type: Justice Catalyst

Organization: Al Otro Lado

Project name: Preserving Non-Refoulement Norms Amidst Non-Entrée Policies