Migrant Farmworkers Clinic and Seminar

Migrant Farmworkrs Clinic

Manadatory Pre/Co-Requisite: LAWG 5989 - Migrant Work Law, Justice and Organizing seminar course offered in the Fall (3 Credits)

Clinic Course: 3 Credits offered in Fall and Winter, by application only. Applications for 2026-2027 are due by Friday, July 3, 2026 (see application instructions below). Class size is limited to approximately 6 students per semester. 
 

About the Clinic:

Do you want to help build community power and develop a movement lawyering praxis? Start by enrolling in the Migrant Farmworker Legal Clinic.

The Migrant Farmworker Clinic is the first legal clinic for migrant farm workers in Canada and uses a "law and organising" framework.  Founded by Justicia for Migrant Workers (J4MW) in collaboration with Windsor Law, it is unique in offering a singular place for racialized migrant farm workers to address their complex, intersectional legal needs across all areas of law, while simultaneously building their structural organizing power to challenge systemic oppressions.

Around 30,000-40,000 migrant agricultural workers from the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and other Global South regions work in southern Ontario farms every year. The legal regime affecting migrant farmworkers operates at the complex intersection of immigration law, trade and international law, employment law, food and land law, human rights law, health law, technology and environmental law, among others. Migrant workers, as a racialized and marginalized group in a neocolonial global system of borders, face numerous complex forms of exclusion and discrimination. They are impeded from political organising, access to justice, and substantive equality. The substantive law and context will be covered in the pre/co-requisite seminar course, where students will learn how different areas of law and political economy intersect to produce legal marginalization and strategies for representing and advocating for oppressed communities while centering their agency and challenging the system.  The Clinic course puts these substantive components into “action”.

For students, the Clinic provides an in-depth introduction to social justice, community engagement, and movement lawyering. You will learn reflective, praxis-driven lawyering for Black and racialized migrant workers facing barriers in a legal system that favours power over community and deradicalization over resistance.

Students will assist in employment, immigration, discrimination, and other cases (depending on the caseload) alongside supervising lawyers; prepare legal reports and submissions for various governmental and international bodies; draft materials for Charter challenges or impact litigation that may arise; and provide support for legal education and organizing. Participation in both legal and organizing work is expected, as advocacy requires action within and beyond the legal system using diverse tools—from protests and civil disobedience to building community solidarity.

In the Fall, students attend the summary advice and outreach clinic in Leamington on two or three Sundays during the Fall term (approximately from 2pm-7pm) and support the administration of the clinic. Transportation help will be provided. This is a unique opportunity to engage directly with migrant farmworkers in the Leamington area. In the Winter term, students will participate in systemic advocacy, research, and potentially online/virtual events.

Projects arise from farmworkers’ needs, and students can expect to be involved in a variety of ad-hoc work. Due to the unpredictable nature of this work, students must be comfortable and willing to work on sometimes chaotic, rapidly changing projects. It is expected that students in this clinic are responsive, flexible, and committed to the nature of our work.

See below for Application Information. Note: Students can enroll in the mandatory seminar course LAWG-5989 through the regular Fall course registration process. Applications are only required for students who wish to enroll in the Clinic component.