Maeve Higgins in NYT: “God Bless America, and Her Immigration Lawyers”

This one is for those of us in the trenches:  New York Times contributing writer Maeve Higgins (who is also a comedian, but not joking in this column) has authored an op-ed entitled “God Bless America, and Her Immigration Lawyers,” highlighting the work of immigration lawyers operating in the current political climate. Maeve touches on high profile policy changes, heartbreaking client sorrows, and unexpectedly unfavorable adjudication and its impact on immigration attorneys.  The column will no doubt resonate with immigration clinicians, practitioners, and professors with active matters. As John Khosravi, an immigration lawyer quoted in the piece, put it:  “These past two years its’ like someone is running around stick their finger in people’s eyes and I’m an eye doctor.”

I do feel compelled to take high praise of any group of lawyers with a grain of salt.  Two points are worth noting. One is the continuing existence of immigration fraud amongst notarios and lawyers alike, and the related problem of poor levels of practice that still plague the profession. The second is the critical role that non-lawyer advocates play in organizing communities, mobilizing resources, and shaping advocacy-related narratives.  

Still, in times that feel like many of us are putting out forest fires with water pitchers, it’s a lovely piece to see in the NYT.   

-JKoh