How Abigail Nyberg Was Inspired to Pursue Immigration Law

Abigail Nyberg, a Minneapolis, Minnesota native, is a first-year law student at New York University, inspired to pursue her chosen field of immigration law by the events of the Muslim Travel Ban in 2017. In that year, Abigail had completed her undergraduate studies as a political science major and had no intention of going into law, as she had previously considered it to be a difficult profession to use for good. Fearful of compromising her personal standards, she hadn’t given a chance to the thought of pursuing law.

However, due to an internship, she was thrown into immigration work and realized that she could use the law to do good. This realization was one that changed her career path, as she began to consider working at a non-profit organization that helps immigrants. She recalls that it was the last semester of college when the Muslim Travel Ban was put into effect, and that was what sealed the deal for her that she wanted to pursue a career in helping immigrants. 

She spent the next two years in the Peace Corps doing volunteer educational work. She recalls that her biggest takeaway was that she enjoyed helping people and wanted to make that her life’s mission in whichever way possible. “Having a set of skills and training to navigate systems is what truly makes a difference,” Abigail emphasized. That was the ultimate reason why she decided it was important for her to have the ability to help those in need, and that required attaining a law degree. 

As the Muslim Travel Ban ensued, Abigail remembers seeing the immigration attorneys at JFK Airport with signs in multiple languages, encouraging people to ask for help and guidance. It was this scene that seared itself into her memory and made her come to the conclusion that she wanted to be one of the people that were capable of helping. With this goal in mind, after returning from Peace Corps, she began working for an immigration law firm in her hometown of Minneapolis where she learned about asylum, removal defense, and other important aspect of immigration law. “That experience confirmed the importance of having principled people working in the immigration system,” Abigail explained.

This summer, she’ll be working with Catholic Legal Immigration Network Incorporated (CLINIC) to gain further experience as she pursues her degree. While she stated she is not sure of her exact plans after law school, she knows that she feels strongly about the importance of having a home. When asked why this is, she stated simply, “The personal ties to my own home made me feel strongly about these rights. People should feel safe. People shouldn’t have to fight for a home.”

 Abigail’s strongest belief is that everyone should be able to have a community and build the life they want. This is what she saw the immigration lawyers fighting for on January 27th, 2017, and she knew that she wanted to give people the practical, hands on help that they needed, not merely a dream of what could be. The dedication she saw of the people on the ground motivated her to do the same work, and that is something that she says will never change. 

When asked about Immigrant ARC, she stated the non-profit has done an excellent job of communicating the changes occurring and hopes to see more changes in the future under the new administration. As she seeks to learn more about law and how it affects people, one of her major goals is to find a way to communicate what she learns to those who need to hear it and those who want to have a more thorough understanding. This is because she believes everyone should know what people like her are fighting for- the basic right for every person to have a home.