It may have felt like an episode of "The Office" as we gathered on the 16th floor for a big congratulations for our quick response, but we did learn a few lessons that we'll share on this forum:
*No coffee, because you might spill and essentially be liable for the deaths of hundreds piled up on the stairs behind you... not to mention those who slip on the spill.
*It's federal for women to carry purses... but they better be long strapped so you can sling them across your body and have your hands free.
*Don't ever use the fire escape... although back in the day that was the way, they are antiquated (I think this wins the prize for biggest word in this guy's vocab) and dangerous.
*Heels won't cut it. Keep a pair of flats or tennis shoes (you're welcome to slip some odor-eaters into them) under your desk and slip those puppies on in case of emergency.
No cutting corners here in this building. Great job 20th floor, practically record time. Give yourselves a round of applause. Oh, and hurry up and organize floor teams so more people can wear those sweet blaze orange hats and vests!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Molly's first filing
Y'allz. Yesterday, something epic happened. And I'm not talking about sushi with alum or the re-appointment of the party president. Yesterday. Molly. Delivered. Her first. Court filing. Boo yah.
Now this was clearly a very important occasion, so of course we made sure her entourage was with her and documented it appropriately...
The journey begins!
Had to make sure to protect the documents, entourage style.
(Starbucks #2)
Documenting the documentation
Starbucks #3?
And then we saw Jonah Hill! Oh wait. Oops.
The excitement builds........
Paparazzi, duh.
Taking the RIGHT elevator this time...
WE MADE IT!
...and then I got yelled at for taking pictures inside a federal building. (Don't worry, I *deleted* them.)
Now all that was left was to deliver the stamped copy to some office or something...
Anybody home?
Oh, hey rando in the hallway, can you let me in?
...
.............
BOO YAH.
Now this was clearly a very important occasion, so of course we made sure her entourage was with her and documented it appropriately...
The journey begins!
Had to make sure to protect the documents, entourage style.
(Starbucks #2)
Documenting the documentation
Starbucks #3?
And then we saw Jonah Hill! Oh wait. Oops.
The excitement builds........
Paparazzi, duh.
Taking the RIGHT elevator this time...
WE MADE IT!
...and then I got yelled at for taking pictures inside a federal building. (Don't worry, I *deleted* them.)
Now all that was left was to deliver the stamped copy to some office or something...
Anybody home?
Oh, hey rando in the hallway, can you let me in?
...
.............
BOO YAH.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The life and times of an immigration intern...
subbah-el-kheir, mingalarba, hola, bonjour, Guten Tag, buon giorno--
Or from me, Sarah, its just 'Hello!'
I am working with Molly in the detention section of the Center. Yesterday was an exciting day for me as I was able to file a motion I had helped to prepare in the Immigration Court. I even had to sign my name on a portion...I am on an official court document! Yes, it was merely signing that I was serving the motion, but why bother with the details. It still counts. Our exciting day turned a little scary as I nearly lead Molly and I to a slow death in the stairwells of the immigration court building. Far from a big city gal, I didn't really understand the concept of certain elevators only assigned to certain floors. When I could not find the elevator that went to the floor I wanted to be on, Molly and I got on an elevator that would take us one floor above the one we wanted, thinking we could just take the stairs down a flight. We headed towards th shining "Exit" and "Stairs" signs as we stepped off the elevator, me thinking all the while that it was an ingenious plan. We head into the stairwell and start down to the next floor. We grab the handle to get out on the floor of the Immigration Court. It was locked. We head back up to the floor we came in on...but no surprise, that door was locked as well. Not yet in a state of panic, we start down the 20 flights of stairs we need to go down to get to the main floor to start our journy over again. All was going well until we hit the 12th floor and came face to face with a door which screamed in a big red sign "Emergency Exit Only. Do not open or alarm will sound." Oh. My. Goodness. We were going to be forever trapped in a stairwell. And with only a 1/2 semester of law school left. Molly suggested going through the red door, but all I could picture was alarms blaring, fire sprinklers going off, and 30+ stories worth of people evacuating....and me unable to take the bar because I have some sort of strange felony charge for setting the whole thing off. Nope, I wasn't going to risk that. I was content with spending the rest of my life in the stairwell. We tried pounding on the outside door for a while to no avail. Just as we we about to head back up to try another door, the maintenance man came to our rescue. Only at first I was a little nervous that we were in some scary movie where you get stuck in a stairwell with no phones and no way out....and you think someone is coming to your rescue only to take you to some hidden room to be their prisoner forever. But, maybe I watch too many movies. He simply asked why the heck we were in the stairwell and then let us out and told us not to go in there again. Point well taken, sir.
After he saved our lives, we headed to the immigration court to file the motion, then down to DHS to official serve them their copy. As I am sure they get many, many filings each day, I am going to guess that the clerks were slightly weirded out by my excitement at my FIRST official immigration filing with the court. I felt like streamers should fall, balloons should drop and I should get a ribbon. They did not give me a ribbon, but I was still excited. My attorney mentioned that a decision may come in on the motion before the end of the week!
On a more serious note, our work here has been fantastic. We are being exposed to the facinating, but heartbreaking, wonderful, but broken world of immigration law. We are surrounded by attorneys and staff that are passionate and fantastic at what they do. They care for the people the help and they help so many. Our work has been so hands-on, which translates to an incredible, meaningful, education experience. The outreach from the alumni (who have provided fantastic dining experiences) has been overwhelming. It is a comforting fact to know that the Wash U Law "family" is so prevelant and so willing to embrace their students. And although I am sure trying, I am not sure I can fit enough adjectives into what the experience has been....
For those of you who helped make it possible...THANKS! (or maybe danke, gracias, grazie, 谢谢, Sukran.....)
Or from me, Sarah, its just 'Hello!'
I am working with Molly in the detention section of the Center. Yesterday was an exciting day for me as I was able to file a motion I had helped to prepare in the Immigration Court. I even had to sign my name on a portion...I am on an official court document! Yes, it was merely signing that I was serving the motion, but why bother with the details. It still counts. Our exciting day turned a little scary as I nearly lead Molly and I to a slow death in the stairwells of the immigration court building. Far from a big city gal, I didn't really understand the concept of certain elevators only assigned to certain floors. When I could not find the elevator that went to the floor I wanted to be on, Molly and I got on an elevator that would take us one floor above the one we wanted, thinking we could just take the stairs down a flight. We headed towards th shining "Exit" and "Stairs" signs as we stepped off the elevator, me thinking all the while that it was an ingenious plan. We head into the stairwell and start down to the next floor. We grab the handle to get out on the floor of the Immigration Court. It was locked. We head back up to the floor we came in on...but no surprise, that door was locked as well. Not yet in a state of panic, we start down the 20 flights of stairs we need to go down to get to the main floor to start our journy over again. All was going well until we hit the 12th floor and came face to face with a door which screamed in a big red sign "Emergency Exit Only. Do not open or alarm will sound." Oh. My. Goodness. We were going to be forever trapped in a stairwell. And with only a 1/2 semester of law school left. Molly suggested going through the red door, but all I could picture was alarms blaring, fire sprinklers going off, and 30+ stories worth of people evacuating....and me unable to take the bar because I have some sort of strange felony charge for setting the whole thing off. Nope, I wasn't going to risk that. I was content with spending the rest of my life in the stairwell. We tried pounding on the outside door for a while to no avail. Just as we we about to head back up to try another door, the maintenance man came to our rescue. Only at first I was a little nervous that we were in some scary movie where you get stuck in a stairwell with no phones and no way out....and you think someone is coming to your rescue only to take you to some hidden room to be their prisoner forever. But, maybe I watch too many movies. He simply asked why the heck we were in the stairwell and then let us out and told us not to go in there again. Point well taken, sir.
After he saved our lives, we headed to the immigration court to file the motion, then down to DHS to official serve them their copy. As I am sure they get many, many filings each day, I am going to guess that the clerks were slightly weirded out by my excitement at my FIRST official immigration filing with the court. I felt like streamers should fall, balloons should drop and I should get a ribbon. They did not give me a ribbon, but I was still excited. My attorney mentioned that a decision may come in on the motion before the end of the week!
On a more serious note, our work here has been fantastic. We are being exposed to the facinating, but heartbreaking, wonderful, but broken world of immigration law. We are surrounded by attorneys and staff that are passionate and fantastic at what they do. They care for the people the help and they help so many. Our work has been so hands-on, which translates to an incredible, meaningful, education experience. The outreach from the alumni (who have provided fantastic dining experiences) has been overwhelming. It is a comforting fact to know that the Wash U Law "family" is so prevelant and so willing to embrace their students. And although I am sure trying, I am not sure I can fit enough adjectives into what the experience has been....
For those of you who helped make it possible...THANKS! (or maybe danke, gracias, grazie, 谢谢, Sukran.....)
NIJC’s Asylum Project.
Greetings from Jing!
It’s now our third day volunteering at the National Immigration Justice Center and I think the seven of us all thoroughly enjoy spending the week in Chicago and working on our various projects.
The NIJC has various programs under the umbrella of immigration law and we get to get our feet wet in these areas.
(For more details, see http://www.immigrantjustice.org/programs/programs/programs.html)
Immigration law practice is a complicated field that intersects with criminal law, family law, employment law, public policy, and human rights. It really is fascinating, and you directly work with people and can really impact their lives.
I have been assigned to work with NIJC’s Asylum Project.
It is difficult to imagine a class of people more deserving of humanitarian assistance than genuine refugees. Refugees are utterly dependent on the good will of foreign governments. At the end of 2007, there were 16 million refugees in the world.
First things first, what is the difference between an asylum-seeker and a refugee?
An asylum seeker is someone hoping to be given permission to stay in another country having fled persecution in their native country.
A refugee is someone who has been given that permission, and therefore may live in the country that has granted them asylum.
What is the difference between an immigrant and a refugee?
Immigrants are willing migrants who leave their country of origin. Refugees are forcibly displaced.
Legal Test For Asylum/Refugee Protection
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sets forth the legal test for asylum eligibility. A person may qualify for asylum if he or she meets the international definition of a refugee. A refugee is defined as:
Any person who is outside any country of such person’s nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually resided, and who is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of, that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
INA section 101 (a)(42)(A); 8 U.S.C. section 1101(a)(42)(a). Accordingly, individuals who can demonstrate that they have suffered past persecution or have a “well-founded fear of persecution” based on one of the five enumerated grounds can qualify for asylum protection.
What does that all mean?
Since 1975, the U.S. has resettled approximately 2.6 million refugees.
In order to be designated a refugee, people must have a well-founded fear of persecution in their country of origin because of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Refugees legally enter the United States in search of freedom, peace, and opportunity for themselves and their families.
According to a report to Congress, in 2008, the U.S. admitted 60,191 refugees from 51 countries. Over half were originally from either the countries of Burma or Iraq. (http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/129393.pdf)
Can you imagine being uprooted from the home and life you are used to, and forced to leave because of what you are, what you look like, and/or what you believe? Safety and security is such a basic human necessity, that it is difficult to imagine not having it.
Refugee and asylum law is complicated and emotional. It is discretionary, so even if someone may be entitled to protection, an asylum officer makes the ultimate decision based on an interview whether the individual will be granted asylum.
To tackle this problem of international displacement and persecution requires the consideration of many factors, but I am at the moment happy to just be able to take small steps and work on some individual cases and to operate the Asylum Hotline that the NIJC runs on Wednesdays from 9 am to 12 pm.
Thanks to all the people who helped make this service trip to Chicago possible!
OXOX
J
It’s now our third day volunteering at the National Immigration Justice Center and I think the seven of us all thoroughly enjoy spending the week in Chicago and working on our various projects.
The NIJC has various programs under the umbrella of immigration law and we get to get our feet wet in these areas.
(For more details, see http://www.immigrantjustice.org/programs/programs/programs.html)
Immigration law practice is a complicated field that intersects with criminal law, family law, employment law, public policy, and human rights. It really is fascinating, and you directly work with people and can really impact their lives.
I have been assigned to work with NIJC’s Asylum Project.
It is difficult to imagine a class of people more deserving of humanitarian assistance than genuine refugees. Refugees are utterly dependent on the good will of foreign governments. At the end of 2007, there were 16 million refugees in the world.
First things first, what is the difference between an asylum-seeker and a refugee?
An asylum seeker is someone hoping to be given permission to stay in another country having fled persecution in their native country.
A refugee is someone who has been given that permission, and therefore may live in the country that has granted them asylum.
What is the difference between an immigrant and a refugee?
Immigrants are willing migrants who leave their country of origin. Refugees are forcibly displaced.
Legal Test For Asylum/Refugee Protection
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sets forth the legal test for asylum eligibility. A person may qualify for asylum if he or she meets the international definition of a refugee. A refugee is defined as:
Any person who is outside any country of such person’s nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually resided, and who is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of, that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
INA section 101 (a)(42)(A); 8 U.S.C. section 1101(a)(42)(a). Accordingly, individuals who can demonstrate that they have suffered past persecution or have a “well-founded fear of persecution” based on one of the five enumerated grounds can qualify for asylum protection.
What does that all mean?
Since 1975, the U.S. has resettled approximately 2.6 million refugees.
In order to be designated a refugee, people must have a well-founded fear of persecution in their country of origin because of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Refugees legally enter the United States in search of freedom, peace, and opportunity for themselves and their families.
According to a report to Congress, in 2008, the U.S. admitted 60,191 refugees from 51 countries. Over half were originally from either the countries of Burma or Iraq. (http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/129393.pdf)
Can you imagine being uprooted from the home and life you are used to, and forced to leave because of what you are, what you look like, and/or what you believe? Safety and security is such a basic human necessity, that it is difficult to imagine not having it.
Refugee and asylum law is complicated and emotional. It is discretionary, so even if someone may be entitled to protection, an asylum officer makes the ultimate decision based on an interview whether the individual will be granted asylum.
To tackle this problem of international displacement and persecution requires the consideration of many factors, but I am at the moment happy to just be able to take small steps and work on some individual cases and to operate the Asylum Hotline that the NIJC runs on Wednesdays from 9 am to 12 pm.
Thanks to all the people who helped make this service trip to Chicago possible!
OXOX
J
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Crimes involving moral turpitude
Kevin here.
I've been doing a little work on the consequences of guilty pleas for non-citizens, and one of the most important elements in determining those consequences is whether the crime involves something called "moral turpitude." Now, moral turpitude has nothing to do with the severity of the crime, but rather, requires that a crime be both "per se morally reprensible" and intrinsically wrong (or malum in se). Unfortunately, different judges have, well, different views of what is that means. For example, in Wisconsin, failure to support a child is a CIMT, but in Texas and Ohio, child abandonment is not. Still think you can tell the difference? Try taking this short quiz to see whether you can determine which of the following are considered crimes of moral turpitude.
I've been doing a little work on the consequences of guilty pleas for non-citizens, and one of the most important elements in determining those consequences is whether the crime involves something called "moral turpitude." Now, moral turpitude has nothing to do with the severity of the crime, but rather, requires that a crime be both "per se morally reprensible" and intrinsically wrong (or malum in se). Unfortunately, different judges have, well, different views of what is that means. For example, in Wisconsin, failure to support a child is a CIMT, but in Texas and Ohio, child abandonment is not. Still think you can tell the difference? Try taking this short quiz to see whether you can determine which of the following are considered crimes of moral turpitude.
Welcome!
Welcome to the Audi Omelet, a place where Wash U Alternative Spring Breaker's share their thoughts and stories from Chicago, the National Immigration Justice Center, and meals with alums. Feel free to leave your thoughts in comment sections, and watch for daily updates!
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