An Interview with I-ARC’s Legal Fellow, Matt Geiling

Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of working in the field of immigration is the ability to learn a vast array of stories from different walks of life. However, sometimes, we forget that some of the greatest stories can be found by looking internally, and that is what Immigrant ARC did, as we decided to interview one of our own, Matt Geiling, in order to get a sense of what inspired him to pursue this field and the work he’s done.  

Matt began his journey in this industry in his teenage years in high school, working at an apple orchard not a mile from his house. The orchard was itself a small global community within a rural town in upstate New York, owned by a French-American couple and largely staffed with Jamaican H-2A migrant farm workers. He worked with these farm workers for two years and returned with them to Jamaica during the winters of 2011-2013. While he initially went to learn more about farming, he recalls witnessing a bleak economic outlook for rural Jamaicans, and immediately understood the higher quality of life that employment in America afforded these families. 

However, this was not his only reason for pursuing this field of work.  

“My friend was a Dreamer. He and his siblings were born in Mexico and came to the U.S. as kids. But when his father wound up with a warrant, local police got together with ICE to raid the family home, SWAT style. During the raid, ICE forced these teenage kids to contact their mother, who ICE then detained. Dad went to jail, but after he agreed to a plea deal in state court, the feds deported mom back to Mexico. What happened to my friend and his family is irreparable. But beyond that, what happened to the extended community was a lot of erosion of confidence in government and local law enforcement and a lot of doubt in effective government.”

“I came to Albany Law to participate in their Immigration Law Clinic program led by Sarah Rogerson. With that program, we represented clients that were protected by DACA, and that same semester in 2020 we began working with Lawyer’s for Good Government’s ‘Project Corazon,’ which represented refugees seeking asylum while forced to remain in Mexico under the Trump administrations so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols.” 

It was at the Clinic that Matt began to see the true complexities of immigration law, and perhaps more importantly, the role policy played in it. 

When Sarah recommended Matt to look at Immigrant ARC, a field placement that focused on immigration policy, he jumped at the opportunity. He has since learned a lot in his time with Immigrant ARC. Some of his greatest accomplishments include successful lobbying, where he was able to share his friend’s story. 

“I never expected that I would be able to lobby in this field placement, so it was a welcome surprise. New York Civil Liberties Union was sponsoring a Lobby Day for New York for All, a law that will prohibit local government agencies colluding with ICE to detain and deport Immigrant New Yorkers. I was able to speak with upstate legislators such as Senator Neil Breslin. After I spoke with the Senator, he said he would publicly co-sponsor this legislation by the end of the day. I was so lucky to be able to tell my friend’s story and represent him in an informal way, and I’m so grateful to I-ARC. I also loved the diversity of the group of lobbyists. There was a Sister from the Daughters of Charity and a representative from Capital District Border Watch, who were both able to connect with Senator Breslin by relating to the shared experience of their Irish immigrant ancestors. It’s amazing how culture can affect politics in real time.” 

Although this was his first successful lobbying effort, he made sure to say it would definitely not be the last.

In addition to this, his work is heavily focused on research. 

“One thing I’m still learning is how destructive the four years of the previous administration were on the whole of the immigration system. When Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that the previous administration has dismantled the US Immigration System, he was pretty accurate. What took four years to destroy may take even longer to rebuild. Hopefully, there will be room for systemic change within that rebuilding.”

“It is interesting to see who gets immigration advocacy accomplished, and how. It’s no secret that the federal government has been unable to pass comprehensive immigration reform since the ‘80s. And there are major holes in the system. There is currently no constitutional right for non-citizens to have an attorney in immigration court, so state and city governments, have had to step up and provide funding to make sure immigrants are represented. It has been interesting to learn how instrumental New York has been in all this. Back in 2013, the New York Family Unity Project got funding for immigrants to be represented by attorneys in New York immigration courts.”

“I am learning how New York advocates are still working together to improve a vastly flawed system. They learn from one another’s attempts and strive to do it better and elevate the best practices. I’ve seen I-ARC working groups do that weekly and monthly. They focus on how things are changing, what federal agencies are doing, and how we can best respond.”

“My current work may expose how some structural problems are continuing past the previous administration. With I-ARC, I am learning how to process and appeal requests and appeals under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This act allows citizens to gain access to information when the government makes decisions and don’t offer explanations. FOIA litigation can be utilized with agencies such as ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, and even local police departments, to determine why they’ve made decisions that have harmed immigrants and unnecessarily complicated their court cases.”

“I have three in the works right now and will have five by mid-summer. One is related to whether certain ICE detention facilities are going to be closed and, if so, when. One reason for this FOIA request is so our member organizations can best represent their clients who are currently detained in these facilities. We would rather they not be detained, but not only are they still detained, but they may be transferred to locations where it is more difficult to get a lawyer than it is in New York. In some cases, ICE has been disregarding the Biden administration’s directives, and we’ll see how that is playing out in this instance.”

What started as a field placement is now continuing through the summer and potentially beyond. 

“I’m grateful to Camille Mackler, executive director of Immigrant ARC, and to Albany Law School for selecting me for fellowship funding so I can stay on this summer as a legal fellow. I also can stay on this fall through the work study program, so there are continued opportunities. Camille has been very generous in opening up the organization to me and allowing me to speak to immigration law and policy experts. She’s helping me connect with all these other organizations, which allows me to build my professional network for post-graduation.”

Matt emphasized the ideal experience he’s had and stated, “I definitely recommend a field placement with I-ARC. It’s a place with integrity and has a great culture to work with and grants the opportunity to work with diverse professionals across the field of immigration advocacy.” 

“I also see opportunities for publication through I-ARC. I’m working on a research project that will produce a report on the national landscape of publicly funded immigration legal services. Whether I’m listed as co-author on that report, or if it’s published institutionally by I-ARC, it’s a big deal for a law student to get authorship credit and it can go a long way for employment opportunities.”

Finally, we talked about Matt’s future goals and where he sees himself in a few years. “I plan to stay in immigration law post-graduation, and I’m looking for ways to integrate my experience with farm workers and immigrant farm workers into my professional career. I would love to work with more H-2A farm workers.”  

Matt says that being a law student focused on immigration during the COVID-19 pandemic, “opened my eyes to not necessarily needing to be centrally located anywhere. I’ve been so lucky to get work as a law student during COVID, and all of my professional legal experience has been remote. I have a lot of ties to the upstate community, but I don’t have to stay here full time to continue representing our immigrant and migrant communities. If I could, I’d like to work remotely from Jamaica or a farm somewhere in rural Florida.”

Wherever Matt ultimately ends up, he has found his calling in immigration policy, and it is his passion for this work that will make his future endeavors successful.