Week 10 - Closing Thoughts
As I finish my internship, I've had the chance to look back on everything I have learned about the immigration process this summer. While I have occasionally been shocked or frustrated by various aspects of the immigration process, in the background, I knew that everything I had the opportunity to watch was the process at its best. Between the dedicated attorneys at GAIN and the strong cases GAIN’s clients often have, GAIN’s clients have a much higher grant rate than the population of people seeking asylum as a whole.
The two hearings I observed of Afghan men fleeing the Taliban are not the norm. Most people seeking asylum in Atlanta immigration court come from Mexico, Central America, and Venezuela. While they also come here fleeing violence and in search of a better life, their stories do not always map as neatly onto the asylum elements, and their cases are typically denied. For instance, one of the judges who granted asylum to one of GAIN’s clients denies over 85% of cases. Some years their denial rate climbs over 90%.1 Atlanta’s immigration court is notorious for having particularly high denial rates. In a sense, I got to see exactly how high the bar often is for someone to have a successful asylum claim.
Even people with the most compelling reasons for seeking asylum may struggle to get it without professional help to guide them through the process. This summer I learned how important legal assistance is, not just in filling out asylum paperwork and preparing for the individual hearing, but through all aspects of an immigrant establishing themselves in the United States. Immigrants are not put in stasis for the years it may take for their asylum claim to work its way through the system. They need to have a place to live, and to be able to drive, to work, and to send their kids to school. They may also need psychological support to work through the trauma of the persecution they faced in their home country. Addressing any of these requires filling out complicated paperwork in English. GAIN’s team showed me the importance of recognizing people’s needs and ensuring that they have the resources to fulfill them, even if those needs aren’t the reason they came through the door. They are great attorneys working on great cases, and it has been a privilege to have the opportunity to learn from them.
Finally, I’ve resisted calling GAIN’s clients “inspiring” this summer. It seems out-of-touch (at best) to draw comparisons between any challenge I’ve faced and serious threats of torture or death. However, over the course of this summer, I have learned so much about the lives of people seeking asylum here in the US, and they have inspired me to advocate for compassion, for meaningful support, and for change.
GAIN’s clients have faced horrific situations with courage, grace, and resilience. In spite of all the obstacles they have faced, they are committed to building better lives for themselves and their families. No one believes in the promise of America more deeply than these immigrants. I know that I love America more now than I did before because I have seen how much this country means to the people who come here.
I am so grateful to GAIN and to William & Mary for giving me this opportunity to learn about immigration law. Knowing how something works now is the first step to figuring out how to make it work better.