I got in trouble because my blog post was late
As I previously wrote, one of the difficult aspects of this work is that we risk re-traumatizing clients and pushing them for information and tasks that overwhelm them and cause pain. It can be difficult work, and it is important to establish emotional boundaries to preserve one’s own health and capacity.
However, winning a case can be re-energizing, and it reminds us of the reason we advocate for our clients. Recently, one of my clients had his application for a green card approved. He was on a U-visa, and we had to respond to multiple Requests For Evidence. Our client was getting discouraged and it became increasingly harder to reach him. Towards the end of our work on his case, he told me he didn’t think he would be getting it anyway, but I pushed him and asked that he come to our office so that we could gather the necessary documents. I know I overwhelmed him and quite possibly annoyed him, but our work eventually paid off.
But winning cases does not mean we can relax. The immigration system can be unpredictable; agencies frequently propose new rules and regulations, usually to the detriment of our clients by arbitrarily restricting available immigration relief. The deadline for comments on new proposed bars to asylum eligibility was due Tuesday, January 21, 2020. The Proposed Rules are ultimately ignorant of the complex and difficult situations that asylum-seekers are caught in, and they show that much of our laws and regulations around immigration are motivated by xenophobia and racism. We work with our clients as access points when the legal system is so inherently inaccessible, but we also help them navigate these implied biases and motivations working against them in their cases.
Please consider donating to Equal Justice America so that my work, and the work of my peers, may continue: https://www.classy.org/campaign/eja-2019-fellow-challenge/c222649
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