Immigrant Lawyer Discusses Issues with U.S. Immigration System

Erica Schommer gives a lecture on representing immigrants
in Texas (photo by Nick Smetzer)

By Nick Smetzer

The immigration systems in the United States is laden with various problems, from historical bias to contemporary challenges, immigrant lawyer Erica Schommer told an audience at Trinity University on Wednesday.

Schommer said the U.S. has a “history of exclusionary motives,” which has contributed to the shaping of the nation’s immigration policy and its flaws. She outlined how politics and policy were once used against immigrating Catholics, Asians and Jews, before recent political discourse turned towards demonizing immigrants from Mexico and Central America.

Schommer worked as a lawyer on the U.S.-Mexico border with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. and is currently teaching law at St. Mary's University School of Law.

According to Schommer, it is not uncommon for people to attempt an illegal crossing in the plain view of border patrol agents in order to avoid the painfully long lines that face migrants who wish to gain entry legally. “If you cross right next to border patrol agents, they are not going to not detain you. It forces agents to deal with people now rather than later,” she said.

“There are only eight asylum offices in the entire country. People are literally going all over the place for these proceedings,” said Schommer. Resources are being allocated in a way that makes it easier for agents at the border to punish those who attempt to cross illegally rather than wait for legal processing.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plays a role in perpetuating the emphasis of punitive measures for immigrants, rather than rehabilitative ones. “It is the choice of our law enforcement officers to decide the kinds of cases that the courts will handle, and how our immigration resources are utilized,” said Schommer. ICE has been increasingly incarcerating immigrants, despite the fact that illegal immigration statistics have dropped dramatically within the recent decade, Schommer noted.

While her job is full of hope, it is also full of challenges and struggles. “There’s definitely been more hard days in the recent past,” she said. “You deliver a lot of bad news," telling her clients that they were denied entry. "It’s difficult, and there are hard days, but I wouldn't want to do anything else,” she added.

Trinity students said the talk was informative. “I think it was really interesting to get to know more of the complexities behind the immigration and deportation process,” said senior Cathy Terrace. “A lot of times it’s really oversimplified by the media, which really makes it easy to criminalize people who undergo the deportation process.”

First-year student Martina Ashby felt the same way. “My perception of the immigration system is that it is up to the whims of whoever is in office. To see that there is a structure in place and that it is possible to help people, it feels less hopeless,” she said.