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The big story is that all of these changes that the administration is putting in are not just directly targeted at immigrants themselves,” explained Austin Kocher, a faculty fellow at Syracuse University whose research focuses on immigration. “They’re quite targeted at destroying the immigration law profession.”
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In just the last two weeks, the administration has implemented an expedited removal policy to enable Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to more easily deport people; implemented rules that limit asylum eligibility; and introduced new restrictions on visas. Some have attributed the acceleration in part to a sense that this may be the administration’s last chance to mold immigration policy.
Throughout every change, lawyers have defended their clients, winning some cases but losing many more than they had previously. This has led some to feel a sense of futility, and to rage against the system through activism. Others wonder if their work makes any difference in a system designed to block all immigrants, and whether their participation legitimates a system they see as completely unjust.
The burnout and depression exemplify the administration’s insidious and deliberate assault on the immigration bar. It’s a system designed to add hours and expenses to every case, creating uncertainty about the law itself, injustice in the courts, and the ever-present risk and emotional fear that a client might get deported and killed.
“The big story is that all of these changes that the administration is putting in are not just directly targeted at immigrants themselves,” explained Austin Kocher, a faculty fellow at Syracuse University whose research focuses on immigration. “They’re quite targeted at destroying the immigration law profession.”
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