Binghamton University students and faculty came together in Old Champlain Hall this past Saturday to discuss the field of immigration law.

The Immigration Law Conference was hosted by BU’s Thurgood Marshall Pre-Law Society (TMPLS), a professional student organization with the objective of preparing students of all backgrounds for careers in the legal field. The conference featured a panel of four guest speakers who have all worked in immigration law in different capacities.

They included Margaret Kelly, Esq. and Shuyuan Michelle Tian, Esq., attorneys currently practicing in the Binghamton area, Shannon Laguerre-Maingrette, Esq., an attorney specializing in asylum cases and a partner for the Spar & Bernstein firm in Manhattan, and Clarisse Motfoso, the founder of a nonprofit organization that connects African immigrants with legal assistance in the NYC metropolitan area.

The conference lasted for three hours and featured a keynote speech and panel, followed by a lunch break and then time to break into groups, which allowed students interested in immigration law to network with the guest speakers.

One of the panel questions asked the speakers to describe what got them involved in the legal field of immigration, and having shared experiences with the current immigrant population was a reason for some of the speakers to begin their interest in law.

Tian, who obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing before moving to the United States, expressed her connection to her clients.

“As a first-generation immigrant, I feel like I can relate to my clients, especially considering common factors such as gaining employment and bringing over their families to the United States,” Tian said. “I feel like I am well equipped to understand their difficulties and help them to the best of my ability.”

Kelly, who currently practices law for a refugee services center called Journey’s End in Binghamton, stated that hearing about changes in immigration policies in the political landscape was a major incentive for her to get involved in the field.

“I was fortunate to grow up as a privileged white woman, but hearing about devastating events with regard to immigration sent a message to me that isn’t how the world should be,” Kelly said. “I knew right then that this was something I wanted to do for a career.”

The Immigration Law Conference is part of the Thurgood Marshall Pre-Law Society’s effort to hold a legal conference every semester with a different theme. Previous subject areas for conferences have included criminal law and medical law, which are some of the main interests for students in the pre-law track at BU.

Anna Shablak, the president of the Thurgood Marshall Pre-Law Society and a senior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, said she believes that it is the responsibility of the TMPLS to promote the field of immigration law to the student body at BU.

“There are many students on campus who are either the children of immigrant parents or first-generation college students, and it is important to recognize the diverse experiences that everyone has on campus and beyond,” Shablak wrote in an email. “We are the only multicultural pre-law organization at BU, and our goal is to create an inclusive environment for any student to study law.”

Some students who attended the Immigration Law conference were left impressed with the achievements of the guest speakers in their respective careers.

Charles Tumino, a junior double-majoring in history and philosophy, politics and law, said that hearing the experiences of Laguerre-Maingrette was the highlight of his time at the conference.

“I thought [Laguerre-Maingrette] had the most interesting background when it came to practicing law, especially since her work in Florida with people from Cuba was really hands-on and involved helping clients overcome some horrible stuff,” Tumino said. “As someone who is studying law myself, this is something I could see myself doing in the future.”

Other attending students said they felt that attending the Immigration Law Conference helped narrow down what specific field of law they might be interested in studying in the future.

Eghan Zapata, an undeclared freshman, said he thinks law can be very broad, but the conference helped him learn more.

“I’ve always been interested in studying law since I was a kid, but there are so many fields to think about such as criminal law, entertainment law, business law and so on, so conferences like these are very beneficial for me to go to,” Zapata said. “Just getting the knowledge to learn about a new type of law is so important when it eventually comes to deciding what path I will take.”

After the panel, there was time for the guest speakers to answer questions from the audience. A common question regarded how hard it is to manage the intense workload that is often involved in a legal career.

Laguerre-Maingrette said it is vital to find a balance for how often she allows legal work to interfere with her personal life.

“This can be a very difficult and overwhelming job, and there are dangers to the personal well-being of immigration lawyers that need to get discussed,” Laguerre-Maingrette said. “You can get easily overwhelmed, and it’s about finding the right things outside of work that can make you happy.”