The Scapegoats

We all live through our own perspective. My frame of reference is through my work as a lawyer, my family and my friends.

In many fields and trades it is easy to be disconnected from your clients. You sell a product and your relationship with your clientele is short-lived and unemotional. It is not the same in immigration law. You should have an emotional connection. You should care. You work with human lives. Their dreams, their hopes, their past, present and future. You work with mixed families. Some have US citizens and undocumented individuals living together. It is complicated, as is life. Borders and ill-intentioned laws and policies complicate things even more so.

As immigration lawyers we have some clients that see us as their security blanket and it's something I truly cherish. I want to help them achieve their goals.

So, what does this election mean to me? We will see a significant amount of pain and heartache in the coming years. The private prison industry is licking its chops to monetize the incarceration of immigrants. Government officials who don't care about the emotional and mental health impacts of mass deportation. They are just "aliens" and numbers. Businesses losing essential employees. DACA recipients and DREAMers being left without employment opportunities or a means to legally survive. Communities left with gaping holes. American citizens wondering why they can't find people to do certain jobs.

I fear for the beloved community of immigrants that I have learned so much from. In my 24-year career I have learned about the importance of family, community and the diversity of other cultures. I have learned about the power of caring for others. For caring for the marginalized.

After a day of contemplation I am ready to roll up my sleeves and do the best I can to represent the people. It is going to be a bloody struggle. It is already extremely difficult to even legally come to this country. I can't envision how bad it will get. The identity of our country will have a seismic shift in the coming four years.

In the past 24 hours I thought about whether I should become more isolated and just put my head down. I know that isn't in my DNA.

I'll be fine, many others will not. Elections have consequences and we are about to see the consequences of our actions.

Mo Goldman is a second-generation immigration lawyer in Tucson, Arizona. He majored in journalism at Syracuse University. His podcast is Immigration Ain't Easy.

Donald Trump’s defense of family separation indicates the immigration policy could return if he wins the election in November 2024. The policy sought to deter illegal immigration by separating parents from their children near the U.S.-Mexico border and prosecuting mothers and fathers. The eventual public outcry led the Trump administration to stop the practice. However, Donald Trump wanted to reinstate the policy during his presidency and said after leaving office that separating parents from their children is an effective deterrent. Despite a legal settlement, there is reason to believe family separation could return in a second Trump term.

Read the rest at Forbes.

Fact check: Government data do not support Donald Trump’s statements that he left the “most secure” border in history. Illegal entry, based on border arrests, was lower in July 2024 than during Donald Trump’s last month in office. It was also lower in Barack Obama’s last full year as president. Yearly apprehensions between 1957 and 1965 never exceeded 50,000, far lower than the 75,316 Border Patrol encounters along the Southwest border in January 2021.