Human Rights Clinic at OHSU
The Human Rights Clinic at OHSU provides free evaluations for people seeking asylum who may have experienced trauma. These forensic evaluations, done by medical experts, may strengthen claims for asylum depending on the findings.
Potential medical or legal partners can contact us at HumanRightsClinic@ohsu.edu. You can expect a reply in 1-3 business days.
Our goals
We seek to:
- Increase awareness of immigrant health issues and the process of seeking asylum in the United States
- Improve access to forensic evaluations (medical or psychiatric exams) for people seeking asylum who report experienced mental and physical trauma
What we offer
Free medical and psychiatric evaluations for people seeking asylum
We offer pro bono psychological and physical evaluations to law firms in Oregon and Washington who work with people seeking asylum. In 2024, we facilitated 33 evaluations.
Our goal is to help people strengthen their legal cases. Many have only their own testimony. Depending on the findings, a medical evaluation may greatly increase their chances of gaining asylum.
Request an evaluation for your client: Lawyers can complete a forensic evaluation request form. Note: The form must be submitted at least 3 months before your evaluation deadline.
Have questions? Email us at HumanRightsClinic@ohsu.edu.
Elective for medical students
We offer an elective course for medical students interested in health care, law and human rights. The Immigrant Health Elective includes lectures and discussions with community partners and with physicians trained in forensic evaluations.
Partner with us as a medical evaluator
Medical providers are essential to our work. We welcome partners at OHSU and in the community. Trained medical evaluators report that conducting asylum evaluations is rewarding work that may change lives.
In this role, you will make a difference for people seeking asylum. A study in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health showed that while 37.5% of asylum claims were granted overall, 89% of claims submitted with a forensic evaluation were granted.
When you’re ready, email us at HumanRightsClinic@ohsu.edu to become an evaluator.
Eligibility and training
To provide high-quality evaluations, we require that you must:
- Be a licensed health care professional. This includes but is not limited to M.D., D.O., P.A., N.P., LCSW, LMFT and LPC credentials. If you are in training, a licensed professional must be willing to sign off as a supervisor of your work.
- Have training in asylum evaluations. Choose one of these options:
- Show proof of completion of online training through the Asylum Medicine Training Initiative.
- Show proof of completion of other training sanctioned by Physicians for Human Rights.
- Attend our annual half-day of in-person training at OHSU. Email us for dates and details.
- Connect with us. Email us at HumanRightsClinic@ohsu.edu and include your credentials and training (if completed).
Want to learn more now? Watch a recorded training session (password rXapS6RG). This does not fulfill the training requirements.
Shadow an evaluator
Forensic evaluation work is challenging. We offer health care professionals who meet our eligibility requirements the opportunity to shadow an experienced evaluator.
Email us at HumanRightsClinic@ohsu.edu to request an opportunity to shadow. Please note that we get many requests and it may take time to set up an opportunity for you.
When we email you with details about an opportunity to shadow an evaluation, please respond promptly about your availability.
About the Human Rights Clinic
We were founded in 2019 by medical students passionate about the intersection of health care, law and human rights in partnership with the national group Physicians for Human Rights.
We are one of the few organizations in the state to provide pro bono forensic evaluations, filling an urgent gap in Oregon’s immigrant and refugee support system. In 2024, we provided 33 forensic evaluations, and we are rapidly growing.
We received the student-led OHSU Flame Award in 2022 for work to make the world a better place.
Meet the team
The Human Rights Clinic is led by OHSU medical students and supported by faculty advisers with interest and expertise in immigrant health and human rights.
Faculty advisers
Student leaders
- Co-directors: Laura Chan and Jill Kumasaka
- Programming chair: Lisa Nelson
- Training chair: Zitara “Nicole” Anyanwu
- Research chairs: Madison Cowles, Faris Fazal and Raushun Kirtikar
- Evaluation chairs: Tamana Ebrat and Kendra Yasui
- External communications chair: Estee Emlen
- In-person clinic chairs: Ruhika “Ru” Prasad, Henry Hays-Wehle and Saylor Miller
- Immigrant health elective chairs: Lily Ben-Avi and Elle Thomas
Our student leaders also help mentor and inspire future students. Some students attend OHSU because of our commitment to human rights.
Request an evaluation
Complete our form to request an evaluation for someone seeking asylum.
Contact us
Email us to:
- Partner with us as a medical evaluator
- Learn about training
- Ask questions
Medical evaluator training
Learn how to conduct an asylum evaluation. We offer in-person training in the fall each year.