Do expert witnesses enable legal violence by participating in a repressive immigration system? Drawing from over 20 years of court watching, accompaniment, and expert witness testimony, this article discusses some of the complications, contradictions, and ethical dilemmas in applying anthropological knowledge to immigration proceedings particularly for child applicants. For example, how might we effectively support individual claims to limited forms of legal relief while not essentializing cultures and countries? How do we resist reductive claims that victimize children and pathologize their parents? This is profoundly challenging, yet also a powerful opportunity. As in fieldwork, engaging with these dilemmas in practice often yields productive insights into how we might educate attorneys and judges from within.

中文翻译：

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促成或颠覆法律暴力？移民诉讼中的专家证人

专家证人是否通过参与压制性的移民制度来促成法律暴力？本文借鉴了 20 多年的法庭观察、陪同和专家证人证词，讨论了将人类学知识应用于移民程序，特别是针对儿童申请人的一些复杂性、矛盾和道德困境。例如，我们如何才能有效地支持个人对有限形式的法律救济的要求，同时又不将文化和国家本质化？我们如何抵制那些伤害孩子和病态父母的还原性说法？这是极具挑战性的，但也是一个强大的机会。与实地工作一样，在实践中解决这些困境通常会产生富有成效的见解，以了解我们如何从内部教育律师和法官。