Delay, Dedication, or Pivot: Immigration Attorneys Definitions of Meaningful Work in Removal Cases

• In Event: 40226 - Reimagining and Reconstructing Occupational Work and Identities in Changing Environments

Abstract

How do immigration attorneys find meaning in their work under difficult legal contexts, and what strategies do they employ to maintain a sense of purpose despite continuous challenges and losses? In this paper, I explore how immigration attorneys understand their work within the legal context of removal cases, colloquially known as deportation cases, where the majority regularly reported a portion of these cases ending up as losses. Using 41 interviews with immigration attorneys who were currently practicing in removal cases, and those who previously practiced in removal cases, I find that attorneys both presently and previously representing deportation cases in immigration court often view success as multifaceted, incorporating values into their conceptualization of victories, and that these meanings often evolve through the experience of doing immigration court cases. The first strategy involved finding meaning in attaining incremental legal benefits. The second strategy involved finding meaning in attaining markers of procedural justice for their clients even if they themselves did not believe procedural justice was possible. Both strategies allowed for immigration attorneys to construct their work as meaningful even in the face of continuous losses. The final meaning of working in deportation cases was one where immigration attorneys viewed their own work in immigration court as depleted of any value and therefore, engaged in the strategy of making a career pivot away from these cases.

Author

• Blanca A Ramirez, University of Texas-Austin