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Consider This from NPR

An immigration lawyer on Trump's first month

Fri, 28 Feb 2025

Description

On Tuesday, President Trump will address Congress and the nation in a major speech, where he'll sum up what he's accomplished in his first month. And while the Trump administration has already claimed success in curbing illegal immigration, many people affected by his policies have experienced chaos and panic.Andrea Lino, a supervising attorney with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, shares stories about how Trump's actions have affected her clients and her work.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Audio
Transcription

Chapter 1: Who is Andrea Lino and what does she do?

9.082 - 13.143 Andrea Lino

My name is Andrea Lino, and I am an immigration lawyer.

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13.343 - 16.304 Ari Shapiro

She's based in Seattle with clients in a bunch of Western states.

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16.624 - 20.925 Andrea Lino

I represent individuals who are detained in immigration custody.

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Chapter 2: How has Trump's immigration policy affected individuals?

21.345 - 25.346 Ari Shapiro

Immigration was the central focus of Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

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25.546 - 33.647 Donald Trump

When I'm re-elected, we will begin... And we have no choice. The largest deportation operation in American history.

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34.847 - 50.272 Ari Shapiro

On Tuesday, he'll address Congress and the nation in a major speech where he'll sum up what he's accomplished in his first month. I wanted to know what that month has felt like to someone far outside Washington, D.C., who represents some of the people the administration is targeting for deportation.

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50.893 - 57.755 Ari Shapiro

So I occasionally checked in with Andre Alino over these last weeks, starting in mid-January, just before Inauguration Day.

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Chapter 3: What are Andrea Lino's experiences under Trump's administration?

58.129 - 62.371 Andrea Lino

I think that not knowing what's going to happen, it's scary.

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62.591 - 64.852 Ari Shapiro

She told me the worst part was the uncertainty.

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65.412 - 75.836 Andrea Lino

But at the same time, I feel that I am in the right place. So I feel pretty privileged to be able to use my work and my knowledge to make people feel safer.

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Chapter 4: What advice does Andrea Lino offer to her clients?

76.276 - 81.318 Ari Shapiro

Before Trump was sworn in, Lina was spending time calming people down and educating them.

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81.741 - 95.847 Andrea Lino

I say there is going to be a lot of action. There is going to be a lot of executive orders that sound very scary. But that doesn't mean that is going to happen.

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96.047 - 98.548 Ari Shapiro

So you're telling people don't believe everything you hear.

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99.188 - 107.652 Andrea Lino

Exactly. Don't believe everything you hear. I feel that what they want is like a lot of people get self-deported because they are afraid.

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108.635 - 121.364 Ari Shapiro

I could imagine someone in your position feeling like, oh, no, not this again. Or this is what I trained for. This is what I live for. Bring it on. Where are you on a scale between those two emotions?

Chapter 5: What challenges do immigration lawyers face during Trump’s presidency?

122.145 - 150.087 Andrea Lino

Oh, no, I feel more like, no, this not again. I try to like to have hope in humanity, but I am feeling pretty, pretty tired. And it's not like a great feeling to start for years. And so I am ready to fight. I have the energy, but I feel, I feel sad for what is about to happen.

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153.305 - 170.827 Ari Shapiro

Consider this. Where President Trump claims success fighting illegal immigration, many people affected by his policies experience chaos and panic. From NPR, I'm Ari Shapiro.

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173.342 - 189.929 Advertisement voice

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196.592 - 198.273 Ari Shapiro

It's Consider This from NPR.

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198.763 - 205.646 Donald Trump

I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute. That I will faithfully execute.

205.906 - 212.509 Ari Shapiro

During Donald Trump's first week in office, he signed dozens of executive orders, and many were about immigration.

Chapter 6: How did Andrea Lino handle a client's emergency situation?

212.769 - 217.391 Andrea Lino

Today is January 27, Monday.

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218.011 - 221.613 Ari Shapiro

Exactly one week after President Trump took the oath of office.

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222.273 - 222.773 Andrea Lino

Correct.

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223.113 - 224.174 Ari Shapiro

What's the week been like for you?

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225.818 - 232.722 Andrea Lino

It feels that it has been a year. It's just a lot. I don't know where to even start.

233.002 - 251.754 Ari Shapiro

Andrea Lino told me about one client of hers in Denver. He was getting cancer treatment. A friend picked him up from chemo and they stopped at a Walmart on the way home. The friend went into the store while the client stayed in the car. Then the client called Andrea and said, immigration agents are in Walmart arresting people.

252.236 - 278.21 Andrea Lino

So all that I was telling him is that, well, you remain in the car. The car is your premise, so you don't open the door unless they have a warrant for your arrest. And my client was obviously pretty overwhelmed and upset, and the friend had the keys for the car. So after a lot of waiting, the friend... And my understanding is that they arrested just one person and it was because the person ran.

279.511 - 285.895 Andrea Lino

And it's like the first thing that we tell people is that you don't have to run because then you are giving them a reason to arrest you.

286.115 - 308.748 Ari Shapiro

When we asked the Denver Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement about this incident, they told us, quote, Due to our operational tempo and the increased interest in our agency, we are not able to research and respond to rumors or specifics of routine daily operations. In that first week of the Trump presidency, Lino did not see mass arrests or a spike in deportations.

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