Thanks to generous emergency funding from the Hawaii Justice Foundation, RILC was able to place Ethan Higa ’21 on the ground to help after the devastating August wildfires. Ethan moved to Maui and worked alongside Maui-based immigration attorney and RILC Advisory Committee member Kevin Block and his staff.

Together, they served 150 individuals and families and filed over 200 applications, including requests to replace immigration documents, fee waiver requests, and motions to change venue. They also went to countless outreach events to volunteer doing whatever they could.

Back on Oahu, Richardson Law and UH Manoa students also played a part by talking to Maui residents needing assistance over the phone and filling out their applications. Thank you to law students Roberta Hickey, Lu Kline, and Jayci Kuniyoshi and to UH Manoa students Emilia Lubet and Lea Romain for volunteering throughout the semester! Mahalo nui to Kara Teng ’17 as well for supervising these volunteers.

We’re so proud of Ethan for the role he played in the Maui recovery efforts and thankful for his heart of service. We also wish to congratulate him on his new role as Deputy Director of Legal Services at the Pacific Gateway Center, where he will continue to serve refugees and immigrants in Hawai’i!