Perspectives on Social Justice and the Law with Liz Chavez

Liz Chavez from Dominican University and her American Bar Association supervisor Bob Lang.

I interned at the American Bar Association - Commission on Immigration, helping with the Detainee Hotline. I answer phone calls from detainees held in ICE facilities who need help with information on what their rights are, complaints, and to ensure fair due process in today’s broken immigration system. Every day at the ABA is very busy, and I love every second of it.

Many of the calls I receive from the detainees have very difficult cases, who I help with the assistance of my supervisor, Bob Lang. Bob has taught me many things beyond just answering the questions I have pertaining these detainees. Interning at the ABA has made me sure of what I want to do after I graduate from Dominican University in 2020: move on to law school, and help individuals like these.

Many of the detainees who I speak with end up being removed and sent back to their country of origin, but as Bob says, “there is a cost to be paid for social justice work, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth paying.”