The young lawyer stepped tenderly to the podium. His case was the first to be called on the 8:00 a.m. calendar.
He seemed three months out of law school.
As he spoke to the immigration judge, his voice squeaked. His motion was simple. He asked for a new hearing date.
Waiting my turn, I listened to his presentation.
He was a new associate in his office. His client’s hearing was four weeks away.
His employer believed the case presented complex issues and felt the need to personally handle the next hearing. However, his boss had a scheduling conflict and would be out of state.
The request seemed reasonable to me.
The judge blew a fuse.
Read More
I still remember my first immigration trial.
I worked hard to cover every angle in advance. At the end of the hearing, the judge threw a curve at me. (I’ve learned, since then, this is not uncommon.)
In the judge’s view, my client could not prove good moral character. He said she was disqualified because she had admitted using false documents in her court testimony.
I disagreed with the judge’s factual portrayal of her statements, as well as with the legal reasoning he used to connect two unrelated rules.
The judge asked if I had any cases to support my opposition. I did not, but this did not mean my position was incorrect.
Read More
As an immigration attorney who specializes in family immigration services, I’ve learned there is a common thread among immigrants who win their cases.
They give far more to others than they ask in return.
It’s an intangible quality. Yet, it’s very real.
Read More
I was 17 years old, hanging out with friends, munching on Big Macs. All of us were high school seniors. We grew up in Southeast San Diego, where dreams were often crushed by the effects of poverty on education, community, and family.
We started talking about what we wanted to be when we grew up. When it was my turn, I said that I wanted to be a lawyer. Everyone started laughing. I couldn’t show it, but I was hurt, deeply hurt.
It felt like I was stranded alone on an island.
Read More
As I was driving back to my office from court the other day, a radio talk show host began to talk about immigration reform.
From the outset, his tone was hostile. His comments were rude and degrading.
Deep inside, I felt sad. Immigration reform is a tough enough issue already. The radio host’s attempt to induce a sense of cultural superiority was misplaced.
Read More
The phone rang. I knew it was my son. I felt both optimism and fear. As he began to talk, his voice quivered. He gave me the news.
He passed the California State Bar Examination.
We laughed. Then we cried.
I was at a loss for words. What’s a dad to say to a son who becomes a peer?
Read More
During summer breaks from Harvard Law School, most of my classmates worked at well-paying jobs in the corporate and government sectors, polishing credentials and opening doors to important political and economic relationships.
I took long rides, crisscrossing the United States, traveling in and out most of the country’s 50 states, sleeping in countless KOA campgrounds, and visiting sites I had only read about – aware that I would never again have the freedom to take 10 – 12 weeks off from external responsibilities.
Read More
“There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”
I was a teenager when I first heard those words. It was a sad moment. Ted Kennedy, the youngest of the three Kennedy brothers, was giving the eulogy at his brother’s funeral.
The evening before Robert was shot and killed in Los Angeles, I had shaken his hand as he toured Southeast San Diego in an open motorcade.
Read More
Given the uncertain future of immigration programs, preparation and planning ahead are perhaps the two most essential elements for immigration success.
For many immigrants, the quest to live and work legally in the United States has been an incessant roller coaster ride.
One day, immigration reform is just around the corner. A day later, reform is just another word, void of practical meaning.
Read More
