University of Pittsburgh
IN-30: Sanctuary Institution

The University of Pittsburgh has 3 programs supporting and helping protect asylum seekers, refugees, and undocumented immigrants. These include the Immigration Law Clinic, a Medical Human Rights Clinic, and the Pittsburgh Network for Threatened Scholars. Pitt is also a member of the New University in Exile Consortium.

1) IMMIGRATION LAW CLINIC

The University of Pittsburgh's Law School hosts an Immigration Law Clinic, which specializes in serving immigrants in removal proceedings and asylum cases, as well as survivors of domestic violence.
Clinic students represent immigrants requesting asylum, facing removal from the United States, and seeking special protection under the Violence Against Women Act. Students also help clients to overcome linguistic and cultural barriers that could impede their success in the U.S. legal system.

Clients may include refugees, immigrant women and children survivors of domestic violence applying to change their status, persons with criminal convictions who seek relief from removal from the United States, and other immigrant populations.

https://www.law.pitt.edu/academics/experiential-learning-opportunities/clinics/immigration-law-clinic

2) HUMAN RIGHTS CLINIC

The University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine has a Human Rights Clinic dedicated to providing medical evaluations for asylum seekers. Established in 2019 and run by medical students, the clinic is a joint effort by the Immigration Law Clinic and the School of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. The Clinic provides forensic evaluations in cases involving violations of fundamental human rights.

By documenting the physical and psychological sequelae of human rights abuses and submitting a medical-legal affidavit to court, physicians and students can make a difference in whether these individuals are granted asylum or other relief under the law.

The Clinic also trains healthcare providers to perform forensic evaluations in cases involving violations of human rights and educates medical students about the legal processes and the role of healthcare providers in securing justice. Shadowing evaluations not only exposes students to the unique points of view of human rights atrocity survivors, but also allows them to observe and practice trauma-informed interviewing and cross-cultural communication.

https://sites.google.com/view/pitthrc/home

3) PITTSBURGH NETWORK FOR THREATENED SCHOLARS (PiNTS)

The Pittsburgh Network for Threatened Scholars (PiNTS) is administered by Pitt’s Global Studies Center (GSC) with support from the Provost's Office. The PiNTS network convenes diverse local and national partner organizations to bring threatened scholars, artists, and practitioners to Pitt and to Pittsburgh. PiNTS is focused on providing scholars with safe and stable working and living environments as a way of helping them to regain their footing, rebuild their professional networks, and reset their careers.

By leveraging the Provost's funding with GSC endowment monies and partnerships with national organizations like the Artist Protection Fund and the Scholar Rescue Fund, the University provides visitors with a salary, benefits, visa and other legal assistance, and help acclimating to University and local life. Through Pitt’s membership in the New University in Exile Consortium, GSC provides scholars with intellectual and professional development opportunities and a network for engagement with similarly situated colleagues around the world. Scholars work with Pitt faculty and students as teachers, interlocutors, and colleagues – and contribute to the rich intellectual life of the University.

Through partnership with City of Asylum, some scholars live on their northside campus, where they connect with exiled writers, artists, and musicians and engage the broader Pittsburgh community. This housing, provided at no cost by CoA, helps to stretch our funds further.

There are 13 current PiNTS scholars, including multiple Afghan scholars, a Cuban dissident couple (a writer and a women’s rights activist), and an Iranian sociologist and legal scholar. Past PiNTS Scholars included a political scientist from Turkey, a Vietnamese rock star and free speech activist, and a Congolese documentary filmmaker (all in partnership with City of Asylum, and the latter two as Artist Protection Fund fellows).

https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/global/pints

4) NEW UNIVERSITY IN EXILE CONSORTIUM (MEMBER)

The University of Pittsburgh is a member of the New University in Exile Consortium, a globally expanding group of colleges and universities in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Each institutional member is committed to hosting at least one threatened scholar every year and these exiled hosted scholars constitute our scholar cohort.

https://newuniversityinexileconsortium.org/our-members/

IMMIGRATION LAW CLINIC - https://www.law.pitt.edu/academics/experiential-learning-opportunities/clinics/immigration-law-clinic

HUMAN RIGHTS CLINIC - https://sites.google.com/view/pitthrc/home

PITTSBURGH NETWORK FOR THREATENED SCHOLARS (PiNTS)
- https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/global/pints

NEW UNIVERSITY IN EXILE CONSORTIUM (MEMBER) - https://newuniversityinexileconsortium.org/our-members/