Miguel De Hoyos
Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid
Austin and Edinburg, TX
What type of work did you do at TRLA?
I performed a variety of different duties while working with TRLA. I worked in drafting Protective Orders for women with domestic violent issues seeking divorces, organized files containing evidence of domestic violence, and drafted motions seeking custody of children and agreements for the divorce. As for criminal law, I worked with the public defender team situated at TRLA in trying to come up with plans on how to approach a capital murder case. I also got to work with immigration, from drafting forms for various types of visas, to directly contacting clients seeking trafficking visas and a breach of contract case against their employer, to researching how recent cases have affected deportation proceedings. Finally, I also worked with public housing. I called clients and took intakes, researched housing law as applied to specific circumstances, and wrote letters addressing our recommendations on actions for the client to take.
How did your internship change your understanding of immigration law?
I learned that what the media covers is just the tip of the iceberg. With the current administration, the already difficult process of obtaining visas has become more of a nightmare. What used to take months to process now can take years, and nothing is being done to fix this backlog in processing. Attorney General Sessions has also changed the law in a way that puts immigrants in a position where they either apply for a visa and fear deportation, or continue with their domestic abusers/ abusive employees just to have an opportunity to remain in the United States. A day’s conversation would still not cover how little is being done to try to help people who just were not as lucky as us to have been born in the United States.
What was your most memorable experience from your summer?
Having worked so closely with other law clerks, I made very good friends who I would often hang out with. One of my best experiences was having been able to go to a festival in McAllen alongside my co-workers and being able to relax and listen to music. That night showed me that I had co-workers I could rely on and, in the end, made friendships that continued even after my internship ended.
How did a TLF assist you in your summer internship?
Part of my internship was done in McAllen, meaning I had to rent an apartment and essentially buy household items from scratch. Having been able to get funded by TLF reduced my stress in finding a way to cover my expenses that arose throughout the summer.