Sandy Restrepo (2L)

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project

Pacific Northwest

Sandy will be working at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), a nonprofit, that promotes justice for low-income immigrants by pursuing and defending their legal status. NWIRP focuses on providing direct legal services, educational programs, and public policy work to immigrants and refugees throughout Washington State. As an intern, Sandy will be working primarily in the Domestic Violence Unit and providing direct representation to immigrant survivors of domestic violence seeking immigration benefits. Additionally, Sandy will be assisting in community educational programs.

Sandy is committed to working with immigrant populations individually and collectively, in a capacity that supports and informs them of their rights. Sandy graduated from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in Latin American Studies and History.

August 1, 2011

My internship at NWIRP is ending and it is bittersweet. I have learned so much the past ten weeks. I was interested in an internship opportunity with NWIRP because they are the only organization in Washington State dedicated solely to strengthening the rights and well being of low-income immigrants and refugees. I am committed to working with immigrant populations individually and collectively, in a capacity that supports and informs them of their rights. By pursuing an internship with NWIRP, I was able to fulfill my commitment while working at an outstanding organization that supports and offers critical services to immigrants.

As a legal intern in the VAWA unit, I have gained an immense amount of knowledge and legal skills by directly representing immigrant survivors of violence. Immigrants and survivors of violence remain marginalized and underrepresented in the state of Washington and this internship has solidified my dedication to working with this population of immigrants. At NWIRP, I have felt supported and encouraged by lawyers and staff members while learning about the complexities of the immigration law system.

July 6, 2011

I absolutely LOVE my internship at NWIRP and I can't believe that I'm already half way done! The first couple days, I learned all about the specific details of the application process for immigrants that are survivors of crimes. By my third day, I was assigned six clients, each were survivors of domestic violence and I would be assisting them in the process of obtaining a U Nonimmigrant visas and filing petitions under VAWA (Violence Against Women Act). In every case, I receive supervision, advice and support from the attorneys and legal advocates working here in the VAWA Unit.

The majority of my time is spent working with the client to prepare his or her application which includes several hours of interviewing the client, writing a declaration, and gathering letters of support. My clients are survivors of domestic violence and many do not have reliable transportation so it can take two or three hours for them to get to our downtown Seattle office. Also, many survivors of domestic violence do not have stable contact information, so phone numbers and addresses are constantly changing because of the fear that an abuser will find them. It can take weeks before we schedule an initial appointment. I have clients who are currently detained in the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, which adds another layer of challenges to client access and communication. Patience and perseverance is important on everyone's behalf!

Another important aspect of my daily work is collaborating with law enforcement agencies and social service providers to obtain vital information about the client such as police reports, counseling and treatment. Although, law enforcement officials and social service providers are extremely busy with their day-to-day tasks and caseload they take time to be involved and play a critical part in helping clients complete the U Nonimmigrant visa.

As an intern at NWIRP, I've also been given many opportunities for training and professional development including seminars on how to advocate for non-citizens with criminal convictions and immigration relief for victims of crimes. I'm very thankful to NWIRP for all valuable experience and knowledge that I'm gaining this summer. Also, I'm grateful to PILF for their support throughout this process.

Read Sandy's journal from last year's internship:

Sandy Restrepo (1L)

American Civil Liberties Union of Washington
Seattle, WA

(2010 PILF internship)

Sandy will be working for the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington (ACLU-WA), a nonprofit, nonpartisan public interest organization devoted to protecting the basic civil liberties of all Americans, and extending those rights to disenfranchised and marginalized groups. At ACLU-WA, she will be the first ever Summer Policy Intern with the Policy Advocacy Group assisting the Deputy Director, Legislative Director and Field Director on state and local policy. Sandy will be researching and reviewing legislation, preparing public education materials in support of the ACLU’s current policy campaigns, and outreaching to local and state allied organizations to gain support for their policy agenda. The scope of the policy work will focus on the death penalty, border patrol racial profiling, and education equity issues.

Sandy strongly believes systemic statewide policy reform is necessary to address the structural inequities in our society. By pursuing a policy internship, she hopes to learn how major law reform is accomplished through litigation and legislative action. Sandy grew up in Santa Ana, California and graduated from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in Latin American Studies and History.

August 2010

As a reach the end of my summer internship, I've realized the powerful impact that ACLU has beyond the courtroom. ACLU is commonly known as lead defender of civil liberties through impact litigation. Not all civil liberty violations can be taken to court and that is where legislation and policy advocacy comes in. Advocating for legislation and policy change can be just as complex and exciting as litigation. In my short time here, I've learned that there are three important components to successful advocacy work: 1) identify a concern, 2) build partnerships, and 3) mobilize community.

First and most important, is communicating with community members and organizations who have identified a concern in their community. Usually this is connected to the way a policy is administered and there is a systemic issue that could be fixed with a policy change. This can include issues such as racial profiling, government surveillance, and gang injunctions. Community stakeholders meet with ACLU to discuss the problem affecting community members and discuss what the source and root cause of the problem is. At this stage, research is conducted about the problem to gather facts and evidence that further inform the problem.

Second, community members and advocates build partnerships with other community members, organizations and elected officials to participate in the agenda setting level as significant issues are raised. Specific individuals within the political system are targeted because those systems are not responding to people's needs. Through this stage and all stages advocates must be aware of the entire community and their needs and must be inclusive and engaging every step of the way. Community meetings are conducted to provide an open space for public discussion and transparency of potential solutions. This step of the process gives a voice to marginalized individuals in the community. Also, a strategy is developed with a policy solution proposals and timeline for action and implementation.

Lastly, community members and advocates are mobilized into action to improve conditions. The strategy developed in the previous stage is now implemented. This includes outreach to community and elected officials to take action which can include registering and voting on a proposed piece of legislation, showing up to city council meetings, or pressuring politicians to be accountability to their constituency.

Not only am I a law student and future lawyer, I am also a community organizer. The policy-making process has informed my strategies in working with community members. Changing laws and policy can sometimes feel like moving mountains but with a better understanding and experiencing the process, I can be a better advocate for my community. I am very appreciative to PILF and ACLU for providing me with this amazing opportunity!

June 2010

My first three weeks at the ACLU-WA have quickly passed because of the range of exciting and meaningful projects that I'm working on. On my first day, I was assigned one of my long-term projects which involves research on local government employees using federal government employees as language interpreters and possible constitutional violations.

In addition to working on this project, I've been assigned daily short term projects. These projects include researching legislative history, copy-editing materials before publication, translating press releases and other communication pieces into Spanish, writing a blog on a current issue, and even calling local politicians to discuss newly proposed ordinances. The projects have covered a variety of issues: jaywalking, environmental justice, youth violence prevention, education equity, racial profiling and immigration.

In the next seven weeks, I'm looking forward to gaining even more practical experience and learning from all the amazing advocates here at the ACLU-WA.

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