On Friday, October 23, I attended the webinar on the current state of immigration policies in the United States. Some of the panelists of the webinar included Houleye Thiam, president of the Mauritanian Network for Human Rights in the US, and staff attorneys for the Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. Both brought their own unique perspectives on the problem as well as solutions on how to make the situation better. For instance, when Thiam was talking about her views on the immigration system, she explained how the language barrier is very difficult for people who do not speak English well, and especially difficult for people who do not speak a major language like Spanish or French. To combat this, she proposed the idea of having less written documentation and more audio/ oral communication. That way, the system would be far more comprehensible to potential immigrants. Another interesting thing I learned during the webinar is that, unlike in criminal court cases, you are not appointed a lawyer in the immigration process. Therefore, if you are not lucky enough to get a lawyer (such as one from The Advacates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc.) then you would have to get one privately. Since this costs a lot of money, it is out of reach for many immigrants, and therefore they have to try to complete the process by themselves.