CASE ANALYSIS TEAM
Our Case Analysis Team provides free, personalized analysis of possible immigration remedies to immigrant students nationwide. Read an overview of our Case Analysis Service.
IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS
David Bennion
David Bennion is a staff attorney at Nationalities Service Center,
a Philadelphia nonprofit organization, where he provides legal
representation to low income immigrants.
Dan Berger
Dan Berger is an immigration attorney at Curran & Berger LLP. He is a
frequent speaker at colleges and universities around the
northeast. He won the 1995 American
Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) annual writing competition
for an article on INS policies toward international adoptions. Mr.
Berger has also been a Senior Editor of the Immigration and Nationality
Law Handbook since 2000, was an Author/Editor of the revised National
Association of Foreign Student Advisers' Manual (2000), Editor-in-Chief
of Immigration Options for Academics and Researcher (2005), and the
Editor of the International Adoption Sourcebook. He is currently the
Chair of the AILA Publications Committee and Vice Chair of the AILA
Business Litigation Committee, having recently served five years on the
Vermont Service Center Liaison Committee. Mr. Berger developed his
interest in immigration in college, where he studied immigration history
and taught English as a Second Language for adult refugees. He is a
graduate of Harvard College and Cornell Law School.
Francisco Gonzalez (Legal Services Supervisor)
Born and raised in Cuba, Francisco obtained his law degree at the University of Las Villas, graduating as one of the top students in the school. For several years, he worked as a civil litigator and taught civil litigation, civil procedures and administrative procedure at the University of Santa Clara in Cuba. After joining a Catholic political opposition movement and becoming legal adviser to the bishop of Santa Clara, Francisco was forced to leave Cuba and become an immigrant and asylum seeker in Sweden. He later immigrated to the United States, initially working as a janitor while enrolled full-time at City College. In 1998, Catholic Charities of San Francisco hired Francisco as an immigration counselor
and promoted him to the coordinator position of their Refugee & Immigrant Services Program just eight months later.
Francisco is a Board of Immigration Appeals accredited representative, which authorizes him to represent and advocate for clients at all possible levels within the immigration legal system. Francisco has represented dozens of asylum seekers and clients seeking suspensions of deportation and/or cancellations of removal. He is also a writer for the El Heraldo Catolico and appears as a weekly guest on the Telemundo channel. Francisco believes that "caring deeply for the clients' legal problems is the soul and essence of a successful legal practice."
Sin Yen Ling
Sin Yen Ling is a senior staff attorney at the Asian Law Caucus focusing on immigrants rights. She is a former staff attorney at the New York-based Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) where she has spent 6 years conducting litigation and advocacy in the areas of anti-Asian violence, racial profiling and immigrant detention/deportation. A native New Yorker, Ms. Ling was born in Manhattan's Chinatown to immigrant parents who worked in garment factories and restaurants.
Mark Silverman
Mark Silverman is the Director of
Immigration Policy at the Immigrant Legal
Resource Center (ILRC), where he has worked as an attorney since
1983. Mark has done over 400 presentations and trainings for immigrant
communities throughout California. He has also made numerous
presentations on various aspects of the law to attorneys and other legal
workers. He is the author and co-author of more than ten ILRC
publications on different aspects of immigration law, including Winning
Asylum Cases; Winning NACARA Suspension Cases; and publications on
family visa, Temporary Protected Status, pro bono asylum programs, and
the hardship requirement for waivers and cancellation. Mark's hobbies
include increasing his repertoire of (what some people consider) jokes
through disciplined study of The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and
other contributions to the highest traditions of American culture. He is
a fluent Spanish speaker.
CURRENT STUDENT TEAM MEMBERS
Alejandra
As a first generation college Latina at UC Berkeley, Alejandra’s educational journey has been an endless battle. Her parents and older brother emigrated from Mexico to the United States in search of a better life. Although her family has encountered multiple obstacles, the hardest was seeing her brother in a San Francisco immigration court, cuffed and escorted by an immigration officer. Since then, she has devoted herself to serving her community, promoting social justice, and continuing her journey toward becoming an immigration attorney. Alejandra is a member of the Latino Pre-Law Society and Youth Empowerment Program at UC Berkeley as well as a founding member of the RISE Youth Immigration Research Team from Berkeley. She plans on graduating this year with a BA in Sociology.
Armando
Armando was born in Puebla, Mexico. He lived in Mexico City until his family decided to make the journey to Boyle Heights in Downtown Los Angeles. With the help of his parents and extended family, Armando was able to transfer from a community college to California State University, Los Angeles and then to San Jose State University, where he received his BA in History with a concentration in California History. As a student at SJSU, Armando was an active member of SAHE (Students Advocates for Higher Education), an AB 540 student group that provides moral and academic support for undocumented students. He is currently doing historical research on the Mexican American community from the 1920‘s to 1950’s and aiding in a study of Cesar Chavez and his significance on San Jose’s farm labor movement. Armando is also the loving father of a 5 year-old daughter and has the full-support of his wife. He strongly believes that “without a path to legalization, undocumented students and their families are at a stand still with the inability to fully contribute and be a part of society.”
Blanca
Blanca was born in Toluca, Edo. de
Mexico, Mexico. She was brought to the United States at the age of 6 and
raised in Northern California's East Bay. Upon graduating from high
school, she thought college was inaccessible to undocumented students
and saw her future as non-existent. A few months later, Blanca found out
about AB540, a new state law that allowed undocumented students to pay
in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. Blanca attended
Contra Costa and Diablo Valley Community colleges, receiving an A.A in
Liberal Arts. She later transferred to UC Davis and received a B.A. in
Chicana/o Studies in 2008. While at Davis, Blanca was active in the
immigrant rights movement. She co-founded Scholars Promoting Education,
Awareness and Knowledge (SPEAK), an undocumented student support group.
After graduating from Davis, Blanca returned to her hometown of
Richmond, CA where she continues to raise awareness about undocumented
student rights and the federal DREAM Act.
Catherine
After attaining a 4.0 GPA from Ohlone Community College, Catherine transferred to UC Berkeley as a junior. During her time at Cal, she has been actively involved in numerous community and school organizations advocating for immigrant and student rights, such as ASPIRE (Asian Students Promoting Immigrant Rights through Education, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, and CalSERVE (Cal Students for Equal Rights and a Valid Education). She is studying Political Science in the hopes of becoming a community organizer.
Denia
Denia emigrated from Mexico to the United States when she was only 11 months old. In high school, she was recognized as a student of the month, was captain of the cross-country team and successfully defended her peers as a teen attorney. However, Denia's college path has not always been smooth. After being accepted at Mills College, she was forced to drop out after only a year due to financial reasons. She later enrolled at Santa Rosa Junior College, working up to 18 hours per week to pay for tuition and books. "Denia does not see her importunity as a terminal problem but rather, something to work through," writes her professor at SRJC. "One must wonder how someone as special as Denia could be denied anything." This year, she is attending San Francisco State University, where she is studying Economics and Women Studies and continuing on her road to becoming a civil rights attorney.
Estell
Estell was born and raised in South Korea. When she was in 4th grade, her family immigrated to the US and settled in Southern California. She started her college career in community college, and funded her education by working full-time for nearly three years. Recently Estell transferred to University of California, Berkeley where she is majoring in Social Welfare. She dreams of becoming an outstanding attorney and has worked as a paralegal at two different law firms, where she has helped clients with their immigration applications. She decided to join our Legal Services to expand her passion for the law.
Gabriela
Gabriela emigrated from El Salvador to the United States when she was 15 years old. In spite of the difficulties she faced as a newly arrived immigrant, Gabriela managed to gain acceptance at UC Berkeley, where she is currently double majoring in Ethnic Studies and Chicana/Chicano Studies. Her passion for social justice led Gabriela to take on leadership positions in the immigrant community, including at Rising Immigrant Scholars through Education (RISE), an undocumented/AB540 support group at UC Berkeley. Gabriela plans to pursue a PhD in Ethnic Studies and a Law degree in the future. In her spare time, she enjoys creative writing and reading.
Hsieh
Han-Hsien Hsieh is a DREAM Act student who earned her JD from UCLA School of Law in 2011. She received her B.A. in Political Science and International Development Studies from UCLA in 2007. While in law school, she pursued public interest work and specialized in immigration law at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles as well as the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco. She is interested in building a community with other DREAM Act students and helping other students attain their goals and dreams.
Irving (Legal Services Coordinator - Deportation Defense)
Irving Pineda was born in Zihuatanejo, Mexico and came to the United
States when he was six years old. Driven by a desire to emulate his
parent’s commitment to education, Irving graduated from Eastside College
Preparatory School in 2006, attended Santa Clara University for his
first two years of college, and then graduated from the University of
California, Merced in 2010 with a BA in Political Science. At UC Merced,
he was elected and served as Campus Organization Director for UCM’s
External Office under the Student Government. In this position he
oversaw campaigns for DREAM Act, Cal Grants, Pell Grants, and lobby
efforts to raise money for higher education. He also helped organize
student conferences, rallies, protests, and sit-ins, and facilitated
numerous workshops at different conferences and college campuses. Irving
was also nominated Vice Chair of the Campus Action Committee for the
executive board of UCSA, a student advocacy organization that spans
across all UC campuses.
Jazmin C.
Jazmin is a former DREAM Act student, who recently obtained her J.D. at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law. She is the founder of Justicia Hoy, a website that utilizes innovative lawyering to monitor, comment and report on news, laws and events that have an impact on the Latino and immigrant community across the nation. Jazmin has had the privilege of studying under foremost asylum experts in the United States, and has extensive experience in international humanitarian law, particularly as it relates to the rights of women, children, and migrant workers. As a law student, she applied theories and practices in public interest policies as they relate to issues of domestic violence, violence against women, undocumented youth, and special immigrant juvenile status petitions through juvenile courts. She continues to research and present on the impact of federal and local labor, criminal, and immigration laws on the Latina/o community. In addition, Jazmin is an artist and creative director for her own social entrepreneurial ventures of Divina Latina, Tonalli, and Pinxe Cards. She uses her creativity, humor and art to examine the role of graphic design and digital media in 21st century movements.
Jazmin S.
Jazmin was born in Mexico City and immigrated to an impoverished area of East Los Angeles in 1994, where she learned to be resilient and determined. Jazmin has participated in many immigrant advocacy groups including Centro Legal de La Raza, where she assisted low-income immigrant workers in need of affordable legal services and the ACLU Immigrant Rights Project, where she conducted research on local anti-immigrant ordinances. In 2008, Jazmin graduated from University of California, Berkeley where she received her BA in Political Economy. She is currently working as an immigrant rights policy advocate at SIREN, an immigrant rights organization in the Santa Clara County. In the near future, Jazmin will be applying to law school to pursue a career defending human and civil rights in immigrant communities.
Krsna (Legal Services Manager)
Krsna
is a recent graduate from the University
of California, Davis where he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in
Sociology and Psychology. Arriving in the United States when he was four
months old, Krsna only faintly remembers Mexico, the country where he
was born. Growing up in Oakland, he was a victim of four different gun
shooting incidents. His ambition to succeed academically has become a
passion as well as a philosophy for self-development. In addition to coordinating E4FC's Legal Services, Krsna directs a
high school mentoring program in Sacramento and is looking
forward to receiving acceptance letters from prestigious law schools
around the nation in the near future.
Laura
Laura
is originally from Mexico and currently resides in Napa. She is an
alumna of the University of California, Santa Cruz, Class of 2009. She
majored in Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) with a minor in
Legal Studies. She co-founded Students Informing Now (S.I.N., pronounced
sēn), the first AB540 undocumented student support group at UCSC. She
will be applying to law school to pursue a career as an advocate for
immigrant and civil rights. She is eager to assist other immigrant
students in finding remedies for their legal status, and to work
together for passage of the DREAM Act.
Mario
Mario Lopez is a senior at UC Berkeley majoring in Political Science and Public Policy. Mario started his student and community-organizing career while a sophomore at East Los Angeles College. Since then, he has had extensive leadership and organizing experiences working on multiple issues impacting immigrant communities. In 2008, he was recognized for his advocacy efforts by becoming the first undocumented student selected into the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy Scholars program in New York City. In 2010, Mario became the first undocumented student selected into the Center for Progressive Leadership New Leader's program in Washington D.C.. Currently Mario serves as one of the co-founders and lead organizers of the Bay Area DREAM Act Coalition. This upcoming year, Mario will serve as Elections Coordinator for CalSERVE, UC Berkeley’s only progressive political party.
Mohammad
Mohammad
is an undocumented youth organizer from Michigan. His family moved here
from Iran when he was three years old. He is a co-founder of DreamActivist - a growing
network of undocumented student organizers and allies across the United
States who are working on the passage of the DREAM Act. In 2008,
Mohammad served as board member and co-chair of the United We Dream
Network's organizing committee. In May of 2010, Mohammad joined four
other students in staging a civil disobedience action in the Tucson,
Arizona offices of Senator John McCain. Mohammad is currently studying
for his Bachelors degree in Social Work.
Paloma
Paloma immigrated to the United States from Mexico with her parents and two siblings at the age of 9. Since then, she and her family have called Santa Ana, CA their home. Thanks to the support of her family and privately funded scholarships, in 2007 Paloma graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services from California State University, Fullerton. In 2010, in the hopes of continuing to expand her knowledge and passion for serving her community, she enrolled at San Jose State University, where she is currently pursuing a Masters in Social Work.
FOUNDING STUDENT TEAM MEMBERS
Beleza
Beleza was born and raised in Brazil, and has
been living in the Bay Area for almost eight years. As the daughter of
Chinese immigrants in Brazil and an immigrant herself in the United
States, she has witnessed the struggles and difficulties of newcomers.
She has seen how cultural and language barriers prevent even the most
hardworking from successfully adapting, and how broken immigration laws
also prevent high-achieving students from becoming active members in
society. Beleza has worked towards social justice as a teacher of
at-risk youth in San Francisco, a writer with ethnic media such as
AsianWeek.com and New America Media, and a community organizer. She
graduated with Phi Beta Kappa and Highest Honors from UC Berkeley, and
will be attending the University of Toronto in the Fall, where she will
study Urban and Environmental Planning, with a focus on Community
Development.
Prerna
Prerna is the co-founder of DreamActivist, contributes
frequently to the Race and Immigrant Rights blogs at Change.org, and is currently studying
intellectual property law at George Washington University.
Sergio
Sergio is a first-generation college
graduate, and the son of immigrant
parents. He is a product of the community college education system, and a
graduate from the University of California, Berkeley. There, he
obtained his BA degree in Sociology and Minor in City and Regional
Planning. His passion for social change and immigrant rights led him to
co-found Rising Immigrant Scholars through Education (RISE), a support
and mentoring program helping immigrant and underrepresented students
successfully graduate college. Sergio has extensive leadership
experience advocating for civil rights, immigrant rights, and affordable
education at local, state-wide and national levels.
Currently, he volunteers with Reform Immigration for America (RIFA)
national campaign as a Central Valley Lead. He is a Family Resource
Specialist for the Center of Human Services in Modesto, California.
Sergio co-manages a worker cooperative owned by UC Berkeley undocumented
students who consult with local non-profit and community organizations.
He plans to pursue a graduate degree in Law, and to continue being an
agent of social change. His dedication to advocating for immigrants and
students stems from his faith, humanitarian perspective on life and his
lived experiences. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his
friends and family.
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