Sabrina Becomes a University Professor....

On Tuesday, I embarked on a new career as a university professor.....for one night.  A colleague and friend of mine is a professor in the anthropology department at California State University, Los Angeles, and she invited me to be a guest lecturer for the second year in a row.  This year, I put together a fun exercise on the use of language in the immigration law (the class had a linguistics focus).  

I presented the class with a phrase or pair of phrases found in the immigration law (i.e. "extreme hardship" and "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship") and asked them what they thought the phrases meant.  When working with a pair of phrases, we brainstormed what the difference between the phrases might be (i.e. is extreme hardship more or less hardship than exceptional and extremely unusual hardship).  After the conversation, I revealed the meaning of the phrase in the immigration law.  

The students were so participatory and had so many fabulous ideas.  The discussion about "good moral character," in particular, sparked a lively debate - is adultery worse than theft? What about a DUI?  

It was great fun for me, and I hope to be able to do it again soon!

New Year's Resolution

As a person, I (like everyone else) try to make new year's resolutions every year: to eat healthier, to go to the gym more often, to spend more time with my friends and family, to volunteer more in my community, etc.  But this year, I'm making a new year's resolution as an attorney, too.  A large part of my practice is appellate work, and I've been blessed to build relationships with my own clients, as well as with other attorneys who refer appellate clients to me and who seek my assistance with their appeals.  Thus far, I've confined my work to cases arising in the Ninth Circuit, where I am most familiar with the governing law.  To stay updated, I visit the Ninth Circuit's website almost daily, and blog about new case law.  In 2015, I will expand my efforts to all circuits.  I have already bookmarked the websites of other circuits, and will try to keep on top of new decisions impacting immigration cases, and blog about them with the same regularity that I write about Ninth Circuit cases.  By doing this, I hope to sharpen my skills as an appellate attorney and better serve my clients (both non-citizen and attorneys alike).  Wish me luck in my new endeavor!

Educating the Community about Administrative Relief

Yesterday, I traveled to a church in Glendale, where I met with a pastor and a group of congregants who are very interested in immigration issues and in welcoming new immigrants to our community.  I gave them a presentation on some of the highlights of President Obama's November 20, 2014, announcement regarding executive action on immigration.  

I also talked with them about how important it was to be on the watch for notario fraud.  In many parts of Latin America, notarios are actually individuals with legal training (much different than notary publics in the United States).  Many immigrants seek their assistance in the United States, not understanding the difference in educational backgrounds between the American and Latin American counterparts.  The results are often disastrous, with many individuals subsequently being deported from the United States as a result of a notario's shoddy work.  Our neighbors, our friends, our churchmates - these are the people who have waited so long to come out of the shadows, and they will be the targets of unscrupulous individuals seeking to take advantage of them.  

I encourage everyone to educate themselves and anyone they know about who benefits from these programs, when the applications will be available, and how to know if someone is trying to victimize you with a scam.  The American Immigration Lawyers Association has put together some great materials on administrative relief and notario fraud.

You can read their materials on administrative relief here: http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?bc=6755|37861|47963

You can read their materials on notario fraud here: http://www.stopnotariofraud.org/

In addition, if you belong to any group (i.e. a religious congregation, a social club, etc.) in the Los Angeles area that has members who you think could benefit from learning about the administrative relief programs and the dangers of notary fraud, please don't hesitate to contact me.  I will be happy to speak with them!

Volunteering in Tijuana

I spent my first day as a solo practitioner providing free legal consultations to people in Tijuana, Mexico.  The legal fair was held at Casa Del Migrante, an organization serving deportees and refugees.  At least half a dozen attorneys from Southern California made the trip.  As always, I was amazed at the breadth of knowledge my colleagues possess, and the compassion that they constantly display.

Almost everyone I spoke with had suffered the traumatic consequences of a removal order. Some of them had been deported only a few weeks ago.  Many of them still had family in the United States, including young, U.S.-citizen children.  Thinking about their broken families was heartbreaking, but hearing their resolve to find a way to continue supporting their relatives, even from Mexico, was inspiring.  Some of them will be able to apply for lawful immigration status sometime in the future; a few are even able to apply now.  Many of them just needed to know what their options were, even if those options did not include a return to the United States.  I hope my advice will help some of them to plan for their futures.