Name: Sofia Bomse
Class Year: 2022
Major: Peace and Conflict Studies (Independent)
Hometown: Santa Fe, N.M.
Internship Organization: The New Mexico Immigrant Law Center (NMILC)
Job Title: Intern
Location: Albuquerque, N.M.
Award: Bryn Mawr College Internship Fund
What’s happening at your internship?
The New Mexico Immigrant Law Center (NMILC) provides legal services to low-income immigrants in Albuquerque, NM, as well as the surrounding area. NMILC also partners with various community programs in order to advocate for and support immigrants’ rights within their communities. The Center provides a number of legal services such as helping people apply for asylum, citizenship, and DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). NMILC is a non-profit law firm that has 501(c)(3) status.
I am working with the legal team that specializes in initial DACA applications, DACA renewals, and citizenship applications. DACA provides protection from deportation as well as work permits for people who arrived in the U.S. as children. NMILC offers a workshop for people seeking to apply for DACA for the first time or renew their DACA. Rather than having an attorney represent each person on their application, people apply pro se, or on their own behalf, and the attorneys and DOJ representatives help guide each applicant through the process and ensure they have all of the necessary documentation.
When someone applies for DACA for the first time they need to meet certain eligibility requirements such as having arrived in the U.S. before their 16th birthday and having lived in the U.S. continuously since June 15, 2007. My job is to review documents that applicants send us to prove their presence in the U.S. and note which time periods are still missing proof. For the first few weeks, the learning curve for this job was pretty steep. It took a while to figure out the time periods accounted for by different documents. Once an attorney lets me know that an applicant has sufficient proof, I organize all of the documents for them chronologically. I also assist with reaching out to applicants when necessary. Occasionally I help my supervisor with her other casework, such as translating documents from Spanish to English for other cases where she is representing people.
Why did you apply for this internship?
This summer I knew that I wanted to work in New Mexico. Having previously interned at a pro bono immigration law firm in Santa Fe, where I live, I knew that immigration law and immigrant rights advocacy was important to me. I also admired NMILC’s mission to serve low-income immigrants, including in ways that extend beyond immigration representation such as promoting economic justice in migrant communities and supporting entrepreneurs.
Working remotely for the first time? What has that experience been like for you?
Working remotely is a bit strange. I have only met my supervisor in person once. That said, it’s not nearly as isolating as I expected it would be, since we are all able to communicate via Slack. As someone who is shy, working remotely has pushed me to take the initiative more often when I communicate with people, because I know if I don’t I might miss out on interesting opportunities that would be more easily accessible to me in an in-person setting. It is interesting to see how NMILC has adjusted the way certain services are offered in order to ensure safety. For example, the DACA workshop used to be held in person, but now every interaction we have with applicants from the workshop is completely remote.
Can you talk about the skills you are learning and why they are important to you?
I am learning how to communicate with people professionally, clearly, and in an informative manner in both English and Spanish, which is my second language. I am learning how to balance professionality and warmth in my interactions with clients so that our conversations are still personable. I am also developing skills that are essential to working in the legal field, especially in immigration law, such as how to organize information and maintain confidentiality. I am not sure if I want to become a lawyer, but if I do, the skills that I am learning that are specific to working in the legal field will help. Regardless of whether or not I decide to go to law school, I am learning professional social skills that will serve me no matter what work I am doing.
Visit the Summer Internship Stories page to read more about student internship experiences.