As 12 came around this morning I, at last, finished sorting the papers into two groups- removal cases and internal ones. The removal cases are those of individuals who are in the middle of being deported, and the internal cases are those which deal with everything ranging from citizenship, divorce, and green card situations. As I finished the sorting and alphabetization I was thrilled, and then I quickly realized that my work had truly just begun.
The next step was to take each individual sheet of paper or packet and find the larger case that it belonged to. Some of the files (pictured below) were inches thick with documents from the late 90’s onward. Entire lives have been carefully kept in order to craft the case for citizenship and the shelves are overflowing with stories.
The firm deals with anywhere from ten to hundreds of cases at once and everything seems to exist in a perfect, careful balance. At all times the firm is buzzing with activity as new cases are taken on. Each member of the firm is working with every part of their being to try and create the best possible outcome, while also remaining realistic. As continue I do my work at the firm, I am continuously reminded of the fact that the cases of many of these immigrants will not end with citizenship. I brought this up with Ms. de Peña as I wanted to understand how she and the rest of the firm continue to work in the face of inevitable “failure.” She didn’t dub it as failure, saying instead that they do it because they just have to do it. That has been a constant theme throughout the first few days, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of my time will include.