Week 3:
Best of Both Worlds

June 27, 2020

Wow! Another week has already gone by and I cannot believe it. When Monday comes around, usually, I think it will take forever to be Friday. But here everything flies by. Perhaps it is because I am so immersed in my work. I am learning so much, it could be that I actually enjoy what I am doing, or even all of the above. Time is flying and I am having a blast. 

This week I got the best of both worlds where I got to work a little on the non-profit side of things as well as with the attorney. One interesting thing about my internship with Austin Region JFON is that all the legal work is pro-bono as the organization is a non-profit. This week I got to work with the director organizing our donations from the past three years. Though this may not sound like the most glamorous work, I loved it because I love organizing things, especially on a spreadsheet. But this work also taught me a lot about how you keep a non-profit going and how important donations are as well.  

I also worked with the attorney and legal assistant quite a bit translating documents from Spanish to English as well as helping the attorney fill out VISA applications etc. This work is so important to what we do and I enjoy getting to know more about the immigration process and how things work. In my time here I have already learned so much about immigration law that I had no idea about. Some of the systems put in place are not the best. The attorney at JFON says I have a knack for finding systems in immigration law that are a bit ridiculous, as she puts it. I personally think the block plan at Cornell has helped me have an eye for inconveniences and inconsistencies, because on the block plan you have to work as fast as possible! 

Another thing I have learned about immigration law is that it is constantly changing. In the past two weeks there have been three major rulings within immigration court being 1) DACA 2) The suspension of H-1B VISAS 3) And a judge ruling minors must be released from detention centers due to COVID-19. All of these things have happened in the last 2 weeks! I am quickly learning that if I do want to be an immigration attorney I am going to need to be able to work/ think on my feet more quickly. 

Besides being immersed in my work I have been going on morning jogs, studying for the LSAT, taking online Spanish classes with the Guatemalan school SISAI, and this weekend I got a fresh new haircut. Next weekend I am going to try and explore more outdoor activities in Austin, COVID permitting.