Legal Internship at BPSOS

During my time at Boat People SOS, I have had a glimpse into the world of immigration law. To work in the area of immigration law was my dream before coming to law school, and I am glad to say that it still is. However, I now have a much more clear understanding of the challenges and rewards I will face in that practice.
The mission of Boat People is “To assist Vietnamese refugees and immigrants in their search for a life in liberty and dignity; by empowering, equipping and organizing Vietnamese American communities in their progress toward self-sufficiency.” This mission of empowerment is what attracted me to Boat People. While the organization itself offers a wide range of services, the legal department focuses on legal services to victims of human trafficking”. Human trafficking occurs when a person is tricked or forced into the country and held under the control of the trafficker, often through debt bondage. In the case of our clients at Boat People, the traffickers used the economic vulnerability of the women to convince them to incur a debt to come to the United States, by convincing them they could work legally once they arrived. Once in Houston, the traffickers forced the women to work in a bar and constantly added to their debt. Trafficking varies from smuggling in that the victim does not pay to cross the border, and they are not turned free once they arrive here.
Although Boat People primarily serves the Vietnamese-American community, we also accepted clients from other countries. The clients I worked with were trafficked from Central America and speak only Spanish. After being freed from their bondage, these women face cultural and linguistic barriers, but they are determined to make new lives. Our job is to help them obtain a T-visa, which allows them to stay in the United States. The T-visa application requires proof that the applicant is a victim of human trafficking, they are in the United States as a result of that trafficking, they have complied with reasonable requests from law enforcement, and return to their country would cause extreme hardship. During my time at Boat People, I helped complete a T-visa application by compiling the necessary documents and drafting the cover letter to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
After obtaining a visa, a human trafficking victim may petition for a derivative T-visa for their immediately family members. Two of our clients had children in their home countries, which they had left behind in order to find work in the United States. Even after derivative visas are approved, the facilitation of bringing their children here involves a slow process of coordination between the family members, the United States Consulate, and the foreign government. Specifically, the children must attend a visa interview at the Consulate, and obtain passports, which can be complicated when they no longer reside with one or both of their parents. These technicalities taught me how slow the immigration process can be, which is especially frustrating when families are waiting to be rejoined. There are valid reasons for the delay, including United States policy concerns of national security and foreign governments’ sovereignty over their nationals.
However, once the children finally do make it to the United States, the process will pay off. Our clients are dedicated to working hard to make a better life for the children than they had in their home countries. Their dedication to their families is inspiring, and their patience encouraging. Helping trafficking victims restart their lives fulfills the mission of empowerment, because once on their feet they will make significant contributions to the community. More broadly, my work at Boat People has taught me that immigration law is an area that requires commitment, but that commitment to the immigration process benefits society in a significant way. I am still excitement to work within this area of the

One week down..

and 16 to go. Until I finish the semester. I'm trying to look at the bright side. I'm no longer a first year law student. I have very few obligations other than to go to class, study and attend my internship. For the most part, my classes are on topics of my choosing. And, I have family and friends that love me.

The other side is it's lonely here. Being a "lone law student" doesn't seem as exciting as it did last year. And it's hard to remember just why I am here, besides getting a job. It's easier to keep my focus when I avoid socializing with my peers, but my peers are pretty much the only social outlet I have. I miss my family and I miss my fiance.

I will just have to be thankful for the things I have, and remember things to come. It is so hard to have faith that I'm gonna make it that far, and to be exited about rather than anxious for the future. But a good friend told me being engaged is like salvation, is it is a waiting, but with a promise in hand. And so I am very thankful, indeed.

The End of Exile

Well! During this time of transition there are a lot of things on my mind. I really should write more often so that I don't have to try to catalog all of my thoughts at once. Oh well.

The main thing is that I now have a new apartment in the city. My fiance and dad graciously did all the work of moving, so that all I have left to do is a little organizing when I get back. With the end of the summer there is excitment and a little anxiousness (is this the same thing as anxiety?) about the things to come. The summer definitely served it's purpose- I was very still for a while. With the new apartment, which we will live in when we're married, it makes the future seem closer than before. On the drive back to my dad's, I found myself dreaming about all of the possibilities, and trying to think about what I really wanted to be doing in 10, 20, 30 years. There are two dreams: immigration law, and to live off of the land-this is the dream of Jon and I. Immigration law is the goal that is most in sight, but with Jon moving to Texas soon, the dream of living off the land, at least in part, does not seem so impossible. And it's never too soon to start dreaming.

I also found myself wondering, would I be happy if we did became, basically, farmers? And I would be. I don't ever want to be secluded from society, but I also think living off the land would give us the freedom to choose how we interact with society. I think it would be the start of living a creative life, where the possibilities are endless, once I stop catering to the status quo. We could learn how to truly live in community when our lives and our work aren't segragated.

I'm not exactly sure how my present career path can merge with this dream, but I know it's possible. At least I have to believe that it is possible. Even if we live in the city, there are ways to live differently. There are city gardens where people come together to grow vegetables, and there are people to know and commune with.

All this comes in light of finishing the book The Challenge of Jesus by N.T. Wright. He focuses on what specifically did Jesus' actions say, in light of Jewish tradition? He doesn't just look at what the moral lessons are, but at what Jesus' life and death meant, in light of the Torah. Jesus was proclaiming the coming of the Kindgom of God, the end of exile for the Jews. The Jews were in exile for their sin of not following God, and they were looking for the Messiah who whould bring excuplation for the Jewish nation. Jesus brought exculpation- by dieing, he took their sins upon him, which brought the age of forgiveness, the end of exile. By excepting forgiveness, the Jews would become the people of forgiveness, and begin to proclaim the message of redemption to the Gentiles.

For those who follow Christ, and receive the Holy Spirit, a new way of life is possible. We are to proclaim the Kingdom of God- the end of exile- the ability to live free from sin. The point that hits me the hardest is that the the Kingdom of God means the ability to forgive. Individually, we are forgiven, but the outcome is the ability to live a life of outward forgiveness. This means recognizing the pain of the world, and the ways that the world is lost, and loving it anyway. It means approaching the problems of the world with love and humility, not with anger and conceit. We are each to proclaim the end of exile in our own disciplines, no matter what it is. If you work in a discipline that focuses only on profit, in what way can you show that there is a more loving way to provide the same service?

I am inspired by new words to describe the idea and way of life that we all are striving for- "the end of exile". A world where love and forgiveness are possible.

And in wedding news, Jon and I met our Pastor/Rabbi- Roi Garcia! He began by telling us that out of the 350 weddings he's performed, only 2 couples have divorced. He will not marry without evidence of commitment, and he provides Christian counseling- both before the wedding and when ever he is needed, for as long as we want it. He is an ordained minister, a Christ believing Jew. Jon and I could not have asked for a more encouraging wedding officiant! We will be doing counseling with him over the phone. He says the three main issues for married couples are finances, communication, and family. We are excited about the support and guidance Rabbi Roi will give.

Well, as the summer is wrapping up now, it is difficult not to be a little ansy about things to come. Isn't it funny, how even when we are on vacation, we find ways to become stressed? I do, anyway. I am always so busy planning for the future, and trying to prepare for it, that I forget to live! I am already looking for next summer's job, which of course means I'm attempting to plan my entire life.

In the middle of it all, though, I know that I am deeply blessed. I have a wonderful man to share it all with, and help me remember the important stuff. And I've my whole life ahead of me, with many good things to come. And I've got my family, who finally all have met Jon. This past weekend was with my sister and brother-in-law in Atlanta, where we met them at the prettiest hotel ever where they were staying. How precious is my nephew! I really like him. And my niece is funnier than ever, and I can't get enough of her smiles. Jon and I both loved watching how my sister and brother-in-law ran their family, full of love! We look forward to spending more time with them in the future.

Now I am back in Florida for one more week. I am doing wedding projects, preparing my resume, catching up on my blog, things like that. I'm really thankful I have this last week to reflect, appreciate what a great summer it's been and patiently look forward to things to come.

zucchini and fireworks

Our first baby! Just kidding, it's our first monster zucchini. As you may guess, we were very proud! It was mostly Jon's baby, he nurtured it from a seed!

Well, besides working in the garden, we spent last weekend helping Jon's cousin move out of his house. We didn't go anywhere for the 4th, even though we both had that day off, because I wasn't feel well and Jon had worked 10 days straight. So we just rested, but this weekend was full of activity, including one unexpected treat. First we went to the moves with Jon's sister's family and dad on Friday night. On Saturday we went to a house warming party in the early evening for Jon's coworker. Then, Clint (Jon's cousin) wanted to treat us to dinner for helping him move. So we went to the hotel where they're staying downtown on the Jacksonville River Walk. When we got there Jon and Clint had to go help their Uncle Walter fix the electricity at his meat store. While they did that, Alaina (Clint's wife), their two kids and I went to the exercise room and watched a movie on TV. When Jon and CLint got back a few hours later, they noticed while looking out their hotel room window that something was going on down on the river. There was a huge convention going on for a particular branch of Hinduism, and they were down on the waterfront. CLint said the barge on the river looked just like the barge they used on the 4th for fireworks. Sure enough, 15 minutes later, there was a full-out fireworks show right there on the river, just like they had the fourth of July! It was a fantastic surprise. We were on the 15th floor, so our seats could not have been better- the sparks would fizzle out on the way to our window.
After the show, we went out to eat at "the Landing", a spot on the riverwalk where they have live music and lots of restaurants.
We didn't get to bed until 1, which is way past our bedtime. But we couldn't have asked for a more magical night!
Now we are resting, and tomorrow starts the rest of busy July. We get to see Jon's best friend next weekend, and my sister's family the next! Sad as it is that the summer is quickly passing, it's worth it for all the worthwhile times we have had.

happy in Hilliard

I am glad to report it's been a happy week here in Hilliard. Last Sunday Jon took me to the Blueberry festival at the local fair grounds. I bought blueberry jam, we ate blueberry lemonade and blueberry funnel cake, and he bought 6 lbs of fresh blueberries to take home with us. For dinner that night we had a special yummy meal called turkey tonato that Jon makes, with fried zucchini from the garden. Then there was the memorable cutting open of Jon's first watermelon from the garden. It was the kind with yellow flesh inside, and it so sweet and delicious. After that, there was blueberry pie.

On Monday, I started my psuedo-lawyer job. I got lost because the bridge I was supposed to take was closed, which sent me on a detour to another bridge, which got me accross the river but also took me off my google directions. I had to call my boss to find my way to the office. Luckily, she is the nicest law boss I could probably have found. She is only a few years out of law school. She tried running her own non-profit but when funding didn't come through, she started her own for-profit firm. We handle mostly family law cases. She shares an office with another female attorney, and there are no men, which I think makes the atmosphere more comfortable and supportive.

I have my own office. I do what most attorneys do right out of law school, which is research. I mostly look for cases which will help some case that Julie is working on. It can be intimidating when I don't know if I'm on the right track and it takes the entire day to find one case that is relevant. But, Julie is encouraging and is always thanking me for my help. I am confident that I have been trained well in legal research. Besides knowing very little about family law, I think I make a pretty capable intern.

I'm not getting paid, but this is very good practice. I am learning family law and I'm seeing a little bit about how to run a firm. Julie's job is not my ideal, but it's nice to know that I would be capable of doing it in the future.

I don't work Fridays, so yesterday I got to go shopping for wedding supplies. I found a berry garland and shoes.

Today we are going to the beach. Then we'll come home and prepare dinner for Uncle Walter's birthday. Tomorrow we're going to visit the local CHurch of Christ, and then go to Alicia's birthday party at her church (Jon's sister). In many ways life here in Hilliard is very simple. Every evening is spent eating and talking with family. Living with inlaws has its challenges and its rewards. It seems to me that this is what engaged couples through the ages have experienced- a time of waiting, in which the challenges will make us stronger and the rewards of being with family are great.

times gone by

As I finished my first year of law school, and quickly threw myself into social events at the start of summer vacation, I had to stop and pinch myself, to make sure I was still alive. There has been very limited social interaction during the last nine months. I was focused on a goal, and the only way I knew to succeed was to shut out most everything else. When I wasn’t studying, I reflected on past years to remember all the reasons I had come to law school. But I was very disengaged from the world I claim to care about. And I had almost no interaction with the people I say I want to help with my degree. I spent more time talking on the phone than I did talking to people in person. Still, I have completed the first, most difficult year.
Now that I’m around people again, I have to remember who I am, or find out who I am now. Law school and living alone have led me to be a more forceful person, but is that the kind of person I want to be? Maybe yes maybe no. And what about all the lessons I have learned in the past; about God, about myself in relation to him, and about the way the way the world turns and how I want to live in it? These are lessons I have accumulated over the past 23 years, from birth to childhood to college; through family, friends, and adventures sought out or handed to me.
But the experiences that we have are never lost on us. No matter what, they affect us and become a part of us. I am thankful for so much. I am thankful for a sweet, sweet childhood. I am thankful for a loving family; for our hikes in the woods, and for all the simple and imaginative play I had as a kid. Things like play are never the aim of a distinguished scholar, and they do not create the climax in a play. But I believe imagination through play is core to the human spirit. It is important that I work and that I serve and that I ask questions, but it is equally important that I enjoy the richness of the little moments I find myself in and embrace life like a child.
For a few days I got to watch my 2 year old niece play, and I felt joyful that she is secure in her parents’ love, and so she is free to explore the contours of her imagination. Then I felt sad that she would not remember the time we fed the ducks or the walk we went on where her daddy picked her up so she could touch all the trees. But even though those memories will not stay with her, they will remain a part of her, and I take joy in knowing that all my moments; big and small, have made me who I am.

Time for my first post. Lately in law school I've been feeling a little oppressed. There are nice people there, but the setting for first year students tends to suck the life out of you. You must learn the material, which is complicated enough, and most of it has an important impact on people's lives. But you should not invest yourself emotionally in the law, because your professors will always belittle your thoughts if you create any of your own. I believe and am hopeful that within the law there is a lot of flexibility, but I think it becomes more apparent after the first year.

Needless to say, I will writing down here the thoughts that have no where else to go. Some posts may be more thought out than others.