Rubén García Fernández (2L)

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project

Seattle, WA

Rubén is spending his summer working for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), the largest legal aid organization in the northwest providing legal services to low-income immigrants in Washington State. Primarily, he will serve victims of domestic violence in the process of obtaining U Nonimmigrant visas and filing petitions under VAWA (Violence Against Women Act). Additionally, he will be assisting on cases from other departments as needs arise. Prior to coming to law school, Rubén worked for a criminal law practice and the ACLU of Washington, and was also a Board Member at NWIRP. He is excited about returning to the organization where he learned so much, and looks forward to working alongside old colleagues.

August 2, 2011

As my internship comes to an end in about two weeks, I reflect back on a seemingly long summer that has passed by like a hot summer breeze. The client is king at NWIRP, and all members of the VAWA Unit exude a tremendous respect for each single one of them, despite the inordinate number of people still on our waitlist.  Although resources are scanty and time available for each client is limited, the gratitude I have experienced for the help that I have provided to NWIRP's clients has been the highlight of my weeks here. In addition, all attorneys are helpful, professional, and always with open doors to listen to my questions, concerns, or just to offer a sympathetic ear when things are complicated with a particular client. I have learned how to deal with clients with very life-and-death situations, clients with special needs, or with others that are outside of the U.S. and are still eligible for some sort of immigration relief. The VAWA staff is also another invaluable resource to learn those tips that only the day-to-day practice can provide. Serving NWIRP's client has further reinforced my desire to pursue a career in the non-profit sector after I graduate.

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June 30, 2011

In the five weeks I have been at NWIRP's VAWA Unit, my work has evolved around direct client representation. I have learned the intricacies of different types of visa petitions for victims of domestic violence. For example, one of the crucial elements for a U Visa is a certification that a law enforcement agency has to provide in order for the petition to be viable. Without this certification, the petition cannot move forward. This certification only testifies to the fact that the client has been a victim of domestic violence, based on a police report of the incident. The problem with this certification is that government agencies have the discretion to deny them, and a large number of them make it very difficult to get the needed signature. Despite this obstacle, we are lucky that many Washington state agencies are aware of the life-saving nature of such visa petitions for the victims and are very sympathetic and responsive.

Working with the client and understanding their problems and aspirations fulfills me first as a person and then as a future lawyer. For example, I am helping a woman from Central America who believed she married a single man, a man from Africa who divorced his wife because she was physically and emotionally abusing him, and a woman who was forced to return to Mexico to stop suffering abuses at the hands of her husband.

Another client, with severe mental health problems, is currently awaiting removal proceedings. Thanks to hours of calls to state agencies and a fair amount of investigative work, I was able to find a Child Protective Services (CPS) Report that showed how the mother of this client had repeatedly abused her when she was a child. This report will allow us to begin cancellation of her removal because she was a victim of abuse.

These are clients in a long list of others I am working with whose lives were destroyed as a result of the abuse they suffered. All of them have had lives full of trauma and came to the U.S. looking for a better, more stable life. But that life was truncated when their spouses deceived and abused them.

In addition to direct representation, I have also had the opportunity to attend a training that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently offered in its Seattle office. I had already been in their building when I had my interview to obtain my permanent legal residency and when I attended the naturalization ceremony of a client we helped while I was at the ACLU of Washington. This time, the experience was more relaxed and welcoming. The training was not that helpful, but it allowed government officers and legal aid organizations to sit around the same table and have a somewhat helpful conversation about issues affecting our clients.

Work is non-stop at NWIRP. Thanks to an ever-growing waiting list of clients and urgent situations that come up on a daily basis, NWIRP is a hectic office. I look forward to meeting and helping more clients in the remaining weeks of my internship, and I hope that one day I will be able to help them as an attorney.