CLINIC Convening 2025

 

Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk Hotel
May 28 - 30, 2025

Registration for CLINIC Convening 2025 has sold out and is now closed. 

What is CLINIC Convening?

CLINIC Convening is CLINIC’s annual conference that brings together legal practitioners, advocates and nonprofit leaders from all over the country to network, learn, and gain insight about the current state of immigration law. CLINIC Convening is the only conference that provides a comprehensive education on immigration law, program management and advocacy. We come together not only to educate and share our work in immigration but also to celebrate the impact and contribution of immigrants through this country’s history.

Join 700+ immigrant advocates in San Antonio, May 28-30, as we continue protecting the legal rights of immigrant families and promoting their dignity in the Catholic tradition of welcoming the stranger as we have done for more than 35 years.

CLINIC Convening 2025 will be an in-person event, held at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk Hotel, May 28-30, 2025. There is not a virtual option for the 2025 event.  Registration is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis, and can sell out at any time due to meeting space capacities.

 

Highlights

  • Network with CLINIC Affiliates, staff and leaders in the field
  • Learn local, state and federal advocacy tools
  • Discover new tools in our general skills workshops
  • Advanced trainings on immigration law topics
  • Specialty trainings for experienced practitioners 
  • Trainings on sustaining and expanding immigration legal services programs
  • Government speakers
  • CLE credit hours
  • Explore San Antonio

 

Registration

CLINIC Convening 2025 will be an in-person event, held at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk Hotel, May 28-30, 2025. There is not a virtual option for the 2025 event. The registration fee includes access to workshop sessions on all three days of Convening, the Welcome Reception on 5/28, breakfasts and refreshment breaks on 5/29 and 5/30, and the Awards Luncheon on 5/29. Registration is limited, and is on a first-come, first-served basis, and can sell out at any time due to meeting space capacities.

Early-Bird Registration Notice

Only CLINIC Affiliates who paid their 2025 dues by the Feb. 7 deadline are eligible for Early Bird registration rates. These Affiliates will receive a link to register in early February. 

Cancellations
Cancellation notices must be sent via email to convening@cliniclegal.org. Cancellations will be accepted until Wednesday, May 14, and are subject to a $100 administrative fee.  Refunds will not be accepted after May 14.

Transfers
Transfer requests must be sent via email to convening@cliniclegal.org. Transfers will only be accepted for colleagues within the same organization through May 20. 

 

Registration Rates

Type Rate
CLINIC Affiliate Early Bird (CLINIC Affiliates with paid 2025 dues - Feb.17 - March 2) $500
CLINIC Affiliates (CLINIC Affiliates with paid 2025 dues - Registration rate starting on March 3) $525
Nonprofit Agency Staff $650
Government Employees $650
Law Students $550
Private Attorneys and Staff $750

 

Hotel and Travel Information

Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk Hotel
600 E Market Street.
San Antonio, TX 78205
 (210) 224-1234
Check in: 3 p.m. | Check out: 11 a.m.

The Grand Hyatt San Antonio Riverwalk Hotel offers CLINIC attendees discounted hotel accommodations for $212, plus 18%, per room, per night in applicable taxes. Hotel accommodations are “first come, first served” and may sell out at any time. The CLINIC hotel rate will be available until Monday, May 5, 2025, or until the room block sells out. On May 6, 2025, all unreserved rooms will be released to the general public. Please reserve your hotel room through the CLINIC Convening hotel online reservation page. The reservation link will be available February 2025.

The Grand Hyatt River Walk Hotel is located 9 miles away from San Antonio International Airport (SAT). Taxi service from the airport to the hotel, is available with fares averaging $25-$35. Ride Share services are also available. For more information regarding transportation options in San Antonio, please visit the San Antonio International Airport travel page. 

 

Workshop Tracks

Over three days, experts in the field of immigration law and program management will lead workshops for advocates of all levels on how to navigate the complex immigration system.  There will be sessions suitable for beginners, experienced practitioners, and those who want to focus on practical skills for effective advocacy. More than two dozen workshops on a variety of legal subjects, policy updates, and program management tools will focus on the following tracks:  

  • Family-Based Immigration & Naturalization
    Many of CLINIC’s affiliates focus exclusively on family-based immigration and naturalization matters. This track will include workshops that focus on affirmative cases submitted to USCIS in these areas, including adjustment of status, preparing for a naturalization interview, and public charge issues.  
  • Humanitarian
    In recent years, applications for humanitarian relief to USCIS have increased steadily as violence around the world has led to historic levels of migration. This track will include workshops that focus on humanitarian relief before USCIS, including asylum, T visas, U visas, and TPS. These workshops will provide practical pointers on filing applications for humanitarian relief and pursuing a client-centered, trauma informed approach to these sensitive matters.  
  • Enforcement and Removal
    The Trump administration ran on a campaign promising mass deportations and it has promised to enact aggressive enforcement measures during its term. This track will include workshops focused on effective practice before the immigration courts, enforcement trends at the local, state, and federal level, and how to secure a client’s release on bond.
  • Program Management
    In a time of great challenge, developing policies and procedures for sustainable programs and building capacity is essential. This track will include workshops focused on effective program management practices to help build dignified and enduring immigration legal services programs.  
  • Special Topics
    Some areas of immigration law are hard to fit into a box.  This track will allow practitioners to dive deeper into discrete areas of immigration law and practice, including how to conduct immigration legal research, how to analyze criminal records, and how to escalate difficult cases with the federal government.  

 

Schedule-at-a-Glance

Times are listed using Central Daylight Time in May. The schedule is subject to change with additional sessions added weekly.

Wednesday, May 28

08:30 am - 04:00 pm   Equifax ICM (formerly LawLogix) Power User Workshop 2025
                                      (Separate Registration Required; Directions for registration will be sent to registered Convening participants only) 

11:00 am - 07:30 pm   CLINIC Convening Registration Open    

12:00 pm - 05:00 pm   Exhibits Open       

12:30 pm - 04:45 pm   Pre-Conference Workshops 

12:30 pm - 02:30 pm  Accredited Representatives Gathering (Separate Registration Required)

02:45 pm - 04:45 pm  Know Your Rights Interactive Training Sessions

05:00 pm - 06:30 pm   Welcome Plenary

06:30 pm - 08:00 pm   Opening Reception

Thursday, May 29

07:00 am - 07:45 am   Mass

07:00 am - 05:00 pm   Exhibits Open

07:00 am - 05:45 pm   Registration Open

07:30 am - 08:45 am   Continental Breakfast Open

07:45 am - 08:45 am   Morning Musings with RIS

09:00 am - 10:30 am   Concurrent Workshops

10:30 am - 11:00 am   Refreshment Break

11:00 am - 12:30 pm   Concurrent Workshops

12:45 pm - 02:15 pm   CLINIC Awards Luncheon

02:30 pm - 04:00 pm   Concurrent Workshops
04:15 pm - 05:45 pm   Concurrent Workshops
Friday, May 30

07:00 am - 08:00 am  Mass

07:00 am - 03:00 pm  Exhibits Open

07:00 am - 04:00 pm  Registration Open

07:30 am - 08:45 am  Continental Breakfast Open

07:45 am - 08:45 am  CLINIC Affiliation Overview and CBI Info Session

07:45 am - 08:45 am  Advocacy Roundtable

09:00 am - 10:30 am  Concurrent Workshops

10:30 am - 11:00 am  Refreshment Break

11:00 am - 12:30 pm  Concurrent Workshops

12:30 pm - 02:15 pm  Lunch on Your Own 

02:30 pm - 04:00 pm  Concurrent Workshops

04:00 pm                     End of Convening

 

Continuing Legal Education

CLE for Attorney Participants
Certificates will only be distributed to those who attend live workshops. Certificates will be sent approximately three weeks after CLINIC Convening 2025.

This event is currently in the process of applying for continuing Education hours for the Texas State Board of Continuing Legal Education, for up to 15 hours of continuing legal education (CLE) credits, including 3 credit hours in ethics.  If you are an attorney licensed in another state, please check with your state bar to determine whether this training qualifies to meet your CLE requirements.

CLINIC is authorized by the State Bar of California to provide minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) training. If you are a California attorney, you are eligible to claim 1.5 hours of MCLE credits for each live workshop you attend, for up to a total of 10.5 credit hours. If you are an attorney licensed in another state, please check with your state bar to determine whether this training qualifies for MCLE credit.

DOJ Accredited Representatives and other nonprofit professionals will receive a certificate of attendance for CLINIC Convening 2025.

 

CLINIC Events Health Policy

CLINIC makes the health and safety of all conference attendees a priority. We are committed to following all U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines as well as local health and facility protocols to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and will adopt enhanced health and safety measures, as appropriate, at CLINIC Convening 2025. The following minimum standards are currently required for in-person participation.

Attendee Requirements
The following minimum standards are currently required for in-person participation. Note: all requirements are subject to change. Updates to the requirements will be made on the event website, on the CLINIC Events app and will be communicated by email.

  • Currently the state of Texas, the city of San Antonio and all conference venues do not have COVID-19 vaccination or mask requirements. 

CLINIC Health and Safety Protocols

  • CLINIC will have hand sanitizer available at registration and in workshop sessions.
  • CLINIC will utilize a low-contact check-in process at registration.
  • CLINIC will ensure hand sanitizer stations are positioned at key high-traffic areas.
  • CLINIC will work with the hotel to ensure regular disinfecting and cleaning of high-traffic areas and touch points.

 

Lily Gutierrez Memorial Fund

In memory of Lily Gutierrez, former CLINIC Regional Director and longtime Board Member, who devoted her life to serving migrants and newcomers, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. has created the Lily Gutierrez Memorial Fund.

Lily Gutierrez, a native of El Paso and accredited immigration representative, was a vital figure in the Catholic Church's work with newcomers for 40 years, working at CLINIC since its inception in 1988 until 1998, and subsequently serving two terms on its board of directors from 2001 to 2007. Her legacy includes the countless individuals she helped immigrate to the United States, the families she reunited who now have made their lives in the United States because of her assistance, the foundation she laid for CLINIC’s network, the charitable immigration programs she established and the working relationships she nurtured with immigration agencies nationwide.

Lily was well-known and well-loved throughout the country. She began her career as an immigration legal services provider with the U.S. Catholic Conference. A familiar face at the ports of entry, she welcomed newly arrived immigrants processed through the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, upon their first entry through the El Paso ports.

She led the resettlement of Vietnamese refugees arriving in El Paso in the late 1970s and became a national expert in the resettlement process throughout the next three decades. She played a lead role in the refugee resettlement program in El Paso, welcoming people from Ethiopia, Cuba, China, Iraq, Iran and many other countries.

Her message was always clear: people are more important than laws; migration is a reality, especially in the U.S.-Mexico border region; and no matter their reason for migrating or immigration status, the human dignity and rights of people must be protected at all costs. CLINIC has chosen to honor Lily’s legacy by extending (in her name) the work she did so devotedly to create charitable immigration programs throughout the nation.

Contributions to the Lily Gutierrez Memorial Fund provide scholarships, covering the cost of registration, to the staff of CLINIC affiliates whose organizational budgets prohibit them from attending CLINIC Convening. Please donate here and add "LG Fund" to the "Memo" field. Thank you for your support.

 

CLINIC Convening Over the Years

 

Media Policy

To request consideration for press access, send an email to jweitz@cliniclegal.org with your name and publication/organization. 

 

Sponsorship and Exhibiting

CLINIC Convening’s most successful sponsors and exhibitors are organizations that provide resources or services to immigration attorneys, community-based organizations, nonprofits, religious institutions or advocacy groups. Past sponsors and exhibitors have included, but are not limited to:

Torchbearer

Torchbearers

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liberty Guardian

liberty guardian

 

 

 

 

 

Beacon Builder

beacon builder

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spark Keeper

spark keeper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ember of Hope

Resource Center for Religious Institutes

For questions, or to become a sponsor, please contact convening@cliniclegal.org.