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Archive for September 2026
When Your Asylum Case Goes to Immigration Court: What a Referral Actually Means
You filed Form I-589 almost two years ago. You sat in the waiting room at the asylum office. You answered every question an officer asked about the night the men came to your house, and about why you could not go to the police. Then an envelope came. It did not say approved. It said…
Read MoreWhat “Medical Hardship” Actually Means on Form EOIR-42B
A father in Baton Rouge sits across from me with a folder. Inside is a photograph of his nine year old daughter, a United States citizen, and a prescription bottle. She has Type 1 diabetes. He has worked in Louisiana since 2011 and has no criminal record. He has a removal hearing, and he wants…
Read MoreVoluntary Departure Sounds Like Mercy. Asked For Alone, It Is Usually a Surrender
A man is arrested after a traffic stop in East Baton Rouge Parish. Within a week he is in a detention center in central Louisiana, appearing by video before an immigration judge, with no attorney. The judge asks whether he wants to fight his case or take voluntary departure. Someone in his housing unit already…
Read MoreThere Is a Warrant Out for You in East Baton Rouge Parish. Now What?
Most people find out the same way. A traffic stop on Airline that should have taken ten minutes turns into handcuffs. A background check for a new job comes back with something on it. A family member calls and says a deputy came by the house asking questions. By then the choice has already been…
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