From students Julie and Claude-
Hi everybody!
Today we had an early morning waking up at 6am to prepare for the courthouse. Upon arrival at the district courthouse, we had a brief discussion with a public defender in which we talked about difficult cases and his experience and knowledge of immigration law.
After, we entered the court room and braced ourselves to hear roughly 18 defendants presenting their cases. These cases ranged from re-entry, harboring undocumented citizens, distribution of drugs laced with deadly substances (fentanyl, ketamine, etc.), and sexual assault. It was striking to see the effects of these cases on family. For example, one woman was trying to visit her daughter, a citizen, and was arrested for a re-entry offense.
Later in that day, we got to meet up with a border patrol agent in a park. As a lot of you may know, border patrol agents receive a lot of hate from the media. Getting to meet a with a border patrol agent in person cleared up a lot of the negative stereotypes around being a border patrol in America. At the same time, it was also really helpful to compare and contrast this border patrol’s agents opinions with those from earlier on in the trip.
We then took a quick pit stop at a local coffee shop to unwind from the heavy content we had just absorbed. We then finally got to go Walmart, where we got to buy LOTS of cortisone for all the bug bites (jk! Mrs. Barada don’t worry everyone’s safe).
Finally, we ended our day with a discussion with a local politician, where he gave an inspiring chat on doing the right thing.
We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in all these remarkable experiences. Can’t wait for tomorrow, but for now we get the opportunity to cause IMMENSE chaos around the campus ;)
-Julie and Claude
