The immigration lawyer Marina found through a community organization's referral line was a brisk, kind woman named Ms. Alvarado, who listened to the whole story over the phone Sunday morning with the patient, unshockable calm of someone who'd heard versions of it many times before.
"Everything you're describing is textbook harassment through institutional channels," she said, once Marina had finished. "Anonymous tips, sudden expedited reviews, timing that lines up suspiciously with a personal conflict — courts and boards see this pattern more than people realize, especially involving families with resources against families without them. The good news is, if your paperwork's genuinely accurate, which it sounds like it is, there's very little they can actually do to you. The bad news is, t
