Gabrielle Rekai, Law’21 (middle) with fellow interns and an Al Otro Lado staff member in Tijuana, where they helped migrants learn their legal rights, how the law applies to their individual cases, and what to expect throughout the process of seeking asylum in the U.S.
Gabrielle Rekai, Law’21 (middle) with fellow interns and an Al Otro Lado staff member in Tijuana, where they helped migrants learn their legal rights, how the law applies to their individual cases, and what to expect throughout the process of seeking asylum in the U.S.
Migrants in Tijuana, Mexico, waiting at the port of entry into San Diego, U.S., can receive free legal advice at the Al Otro Lado border-rights workshop.
Migrants in Tijuana, Mexico, waiting at the port of entry into San Diego, U.S., can receive free legal advice at the Al Otro Lado border-rights workshop.

Gabrielle Rekai, Law’21, spent the summer in Tijuana, Mexico, putting her first year of law studies to good use. There, she interned for Al Otro Lado, an NGO that provides free legal services to migrants seeking asylum in the United States. Working with the organization’s border-rights workshop, she led information sessions on American immigration law and current policies regarding asylum. 

“The ‘border crisis’ is usually associated with Central American migrants, who do make up a large part of the population,” she says. “What is often overlooked is that Tijuana is a port of entry for migrants fleeing from all over the world. Because I can communicate in both English and French, I worked primarily with African clients, particularly the vast number of English-speaking Cameroonians fleeing that country. 

“I became their point person, and I often fielded questions about Canadian immigration and refugee law,” she adds. “I also performed individual intakes in which clients disclosed the harrowing details of the events that led them to seek asylum in the U.S.” 

Using the framework of American immigration law, she consulted with clients on which category of asylum seeker they may qualify for, what the relevant aspects of their story were regarding their claim, and how to begin the process of collecting evidence.

This workshop – a free legal clinic for migrants to learn their legal rights, how the law applies to their individual cases, and what to expect throughout the process – serves to train asylum seekers to be their own advocates. “Most of the clients I worked with will not have access to legal representation; many will fight their cases from within detention centres,” explains Rekai. “Furthermore, there exists current U.S. politics and policies that intentionally serve as barriers to the law, making this process more challenging. 

“These ‘deterrence policies’ take many forms,” she continues. “Notably, cruelty is used to make immigration less desirable but policies creating confusion, disillusionment and delays are also intentionally implemented to this end.” 

Under the current policy of “metering” at the border, when migrants arrive at the at the U.S. port-of-entry they are not able to make an asylum claim as stipulated by American immigration law. Rather, they are forced to take a number and their name is put on a list. “The discrepancy between numbers given each day and numbers called has created a bottleneck of thousands of migrants,” says Rekai. “It is impossible to know how long the wait will be since a seemingly arbitrary amount of numbers are called each day, but at the time I was there it was an estimated three to six months. 

“During this period,” she adds, “migrants are stranded in Tijuana, unable to work and have limited housing options. There is rampant homelessness, violence and corruption. The living conditions and limited access to healthcare lead to illness and disease. Then there are the more creeping epidemics: a population with layers of deep and recent trauma facing boredom, disillusionment, anxiety and hopelessness.”

While clients were often disappointed to learn that Al Otro Lado could not represent them and had no impact on current immigration policies, Rekai came to an understanding: “Learning the legal framework that is in place to protect refugees and receiving assistance in navigating it contributed to a peace-of-mind and empowerment. That is at the heart of achieving just outcomes in this legal landscape.”

Primarily, Rekai chose to work with Al Otro Lado because of her interest in human rights and access to justice. “I believe it is crucial to my legal education to put myself physically in spaces and in conversations with people who are directly affected,” she says. “To this end, working with Al Otro Lado was invaluable. I was privileged to hear the personal stories of over 30 people who have been through horrors beyond my imagination. I also had the opportunity to work with lawyers and fellow law students immersed in this kind of social justice work.”

Becoming very familiar with the concept of “movement lawyering” through her internship, Rekai learned how legal professionals can contribute to social justice movements by educating and empowering individuals. “Going forward I intend to pursue avenues to provide advocacy training and try and broaden pathways for individuals to access justice,” she says. “Approaching this kind of work through the lens of immigration was a poignant and valuable entry point, particularly at this moment in history, but there are numerous areas of the law in which to do this kind of work. I look forward to continuing to explore that.”

Gabrielle Rekai’s internship was made possible through the Torys Public Interest Summer Internship Awards program. “I feel extremely lucky to have received the support that I did for this project from Queen’s,” she says. “I hope that in the future more 1L students are able to take advantage of the funding available to pursue work like this.”