Immigration Lawyer Uses Music to Appeal for Immigrants

Susan Cohen—who has been practicing immigration law for more than three decades—is using music to raise awareness of the plight of refugees in a video she created called “Beyond the Borders.”

Cohen, head of Mintz Levin’s national immigration practice, wrote the song from the points of view of a fictionalized Syrian refugee family and the American aid worker who befriends them.

Music students sing the parts of each family member who contrast their past lives with their current existence as wanderers who “are cast beyond the borders” and “lost across the sea.”

Cohen was inspired to write the song by the first Trump travel ban, implemented early last year, that barred people from several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S.

Cohen was among the lawyers who rushed to court to challenge the ban the day it was announced. The list of countries included Syria, from which an estimated six million people have fled since fighting broke out in 2011.

“The horror of the civil war in Syria was a catalyst to write the song,” said Cohen. “I definitely wanted to showcase what all refugees suffer.” she said.

“I was mad, sad and depressed. The melody just came to me, and the lyrics were a way to channel my feelings about the great value of welcoming the stranger.”

Cohen devotes part of her practice, which she founded not long after her law school graduation, to representing people seeking political asylum in the U.S. The immigration practice has grown to 12 attorneys, whose main work is handling visa requests from companies seeking foreign workers with specialist skills, and individuals such as doctors, scientists, and athletes from abroad.

The practice’s pro bono work includes representing judges from Turkey who have fled the regime of President Recep Erdogan. Cohen also holds regular office hours at M.I.T.'s Venture Mentoring Service for entrepreneurs from around the world, and works with groups who help resettle refugees.

Though lawyering is her profession, music is Cohen’s avocation. She has written numerous songs and says folk singers like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez are her musical models. Her songs include those in a CD she produced in 2009 called “In Time,” the proceeds of which helped fund the Political Asylum Immigration Representation Project.

After she started writing “Beyond the Borders” last year, she contacted Mark Simos, a professor of songwriting at Berklee College of Music, Boston. He helped her refine the music and her approach.

In the video, Berklee students sing and provide the instrumental accompaniment. Many students who participated were from countries affected by the travel ban, including lead singer Nano Raies, the first Syrian woman to study at Berklee.

Cohen is releasing the video in time for World Refugee Day, June 20. She asked that any donations be directed to organizations helping Syrian refugees.

She also asked that people “raise their voices.” The scale of the refugee crisis “feels heartless,” she said.

“What people are going through takes a human toll.”