3L Emily Cole Co-Authors Research Shaping Policy on Naturalization and Civic Engagement 

3L Emily Cole’s work with Professor Ming H. Chen turns qualitative data about naturalization into findings that influence national policy initiatives.

3L student Emily Cole discusses her work as a fellow with the Center for Race, Immigration, Citizenship, and Equality (RICE) and as a research assistant for RICE Faculty-Director and Professor of Law Ming H. Chen. 

Cole co-authored the scholarly paper, “Citizenship and Civic Engagement Among New Americans: Arab, Asian, and Latino Americans During a Shifting Political Landscape,” published in the UC Law Journal last fall. 

• Co-authored a scholarly paper analyzing how the naturalization process shapes civic engagement to inform advocates and policymakers. 

• Strengthened research, writing, and analytical skills by working directly with qualitative data and contributing to published legal scholarship. 

• Connected academic research to career goals in plaintiff-side employment law, where immigration policy and workplace rights increasingly intersect.

3L Emily Cole: 

As a research assistant for Professor Chen, I contributed to legal scholarship exploring participants’ experiences in the naturalization process and how those experiences shape civic engagement. I reviewed interview transcripts and helped develop findings that informed recommendations to the New Americans Campaign, a component of the Immigrant Legal Research Center run by UC Law alum Lucia Martel Dow, LLM ’12, on how to increase civic engagement among naturalized citizens.

It was extremely rewarding to work closely with Professor Chen on scholarship that directly impacts policies affecting so many people. This experience allowed me to hone my research and writing skills while collaborating on a topic I care deeply about. I am honored to be a co-author because Professor Chen’s work is so impactful and because my contributions helped support policy recommendations for immigrants’ rights organizations. 

My interest in this work is deeply personal. I have a large immigrant family, and I have seen firsthand how difficult it is to navigate the immigration and naturalization process. I want my mom, my grandma, my cousins, aunts, and uncles to feel like they are part of American society and feel safe and welcome here. Access to reliable information and legal assistance can make a meaningful difference, and that perspective shapes how I view legal practice and scholarship. 

I was part of a team of researchers and co-authors that included 3L students Adrian Ballesteros and Joy Min. My role in the project was to identify responses tied to specific variables from interviews and survey questions and organize them based on whether participation in the civic process increased or decreased. These variables included access to political support structures, when and where participants immigrated, comfort with speaking English, the amount of family they had in the U.S., whether they came with the help of an organization, and attitudes toward immigration in their communities. 

My academic and professional interests also intersect with this work. I am interested in plaintiff-side employment litigation, where immigration consequences are increasingly relevant. Many people rely on their jobs not only for income and benefits like insurance and retirement savings, but also for their ability to remain in the United States. I have seen how employers can use immigration status to retaliate against workers or discourage them from asserting their rights, especially in the context of changes to H1-B visas and other programs. 

Before law school, I worked at a plaintiff-side employment firm and saw how attorneys seek just outcomes through litigation while also advocating for legislative reform. That experience, combined with my research work, reinforced how legal scholarship and practice can inform one another and shape more effective policies.

I have also served as both a staff editor and articles editor for the UC Law Journal, where I edited footnotes, helped select scholarship, and worked on substantive edits. This experience deepened my understanding of how rigorous and collaborative the legal publishing process is, and it strengthened my ability to engage with complex legal arguments. 

Legal research is incredibly important. Courts often rely on it when addressing novel questions, and strong, evidence-based research can shape how laws are written and applied. Creative legal research has the power to advance the field by helping courts and legislators develop better solutions to complex legal problems — and my work with Professor Chen showed me how that impact can extend directly to immigrants and their communities. 

The Evidence of Success series highlights UC Law SF students as they share how the College’s opportunities equip them with the experience, skills, and confidence to excel in the legal profession.