On September 4, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted a raid at a nutrition bar factory in Cato, New York, detaining several workers, including Maribel Lopez, a client of Cornell Law School’s Gender Justice Clinic. Lopez, who had fled Guatemala and was awaiting a decision on her asylum appeal, was taken from New York to Texas and deported within three days—despite valid work authorization and family ties in the United States, including three young children, one a U.S. citizen. Her family and legal team were unable to reach her until just before her deportation.
The case drew national attention and was featured in the New York Times. Lopez had arrived in 2018 seeking asylum after fleeing domestic violence. Although her initial application was denied, her appeal remains pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals, with support from the Gender Justice Clinic and Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic.
In the chaotic days following the raid, the Gender Justice Clinic team—students Kelly Ellis ’27, Johanna Hussain ’26, Nishanka Kuthuru ’27, Lejing Lin ’27, Carina Suarez ’27, and their clinic director, Elizabeth Brundige—mobilized to locate Lopez, assist her family, and prepare emergency filings. According to federal officials, her deportation was later confirmed to have been “inadvertent.” On November 6, ICE approved her return under significant public benefit parole, though she remains detained in El Paso while her case proceeds.
For students involved, the experience was both urgent and deeply personal.
“It was disheartening to see our client, who followed everything the government asked of her for years, suffer because the law was reinterpreted to detain and deport as many immigrants as possible,” said Hussain. “But it was also amazing to see professors, fellows, and clinic students band together so quickly to respond to these emergency situations.”
As Cornell Law clinics continue to advocate for Lopez’s release, the case highlights both the consequences of immigration enforcement errors and the role of clinical education in preparing students to respond in moments of crisis.
“Despite the challenges we faced, I couldn’t be more in awe of our clinical programs team,” added Suarez. “Everyone moved quickly to research legal avenues and brainstorm ways to help. For me, this experience not only highlighted the importance of pro bono work, but also the strength and collaborative spirit of our clinical programs. It reaffirmed that we are learning what it really means to be ‘lawyers in the best sense.’”
