Staff

Maria Soto is an Intake Coordinator at the Grand Rapids MIRC office. Maria was born in Delaware but was raised in Hudsonville, Michigan. Maria received her Bachelor's degree in International Business Management from Davenport University and hopes to one day go to law school to become an Immigration Attorney. While at Davenport University, Maria was Vice President of the Latinx Student Union. She is eager to learn more about immigration and how she can assist people with their immigration cases at MIRC

Maribel is a legal assistant on the UC team in our Grand Rapid office. Her family immigrated from Durango, Mexico and decided to call Grand Rapids home which is where she was born and raised. She learned about racism and dicrimination from an early age and always wanted to do something about it. She worked for years in a children's camp that focused on racial reconciliation and other non profits with the same goal. Maribel loves to be able to help and advocate for those that don't know how to speak up for themselves or are afraid. Maribel is also fluent in English and Spanish and is new to the immigration field. In her free time Maribel enjoys cooking, karaoke, and camping.

Megan Kraus is a staff attorney for MIRC’s unaccompanied children program. Megan first became interested in Immigration Law through her experience as an exchange student to Slovakia in high school and as a mentor to incoming exchange students in the following years. In May 2022, Megan received her J.D. From Michigan State University College of Law. During law school, Megan served as a student clinician for the Michigan State University Immigration Law Clinic, where she represented clients in various immigration matters.

Mercedes Watts is a Supervising Attorney with the Michigan Immigration Rights Center’s Grand Rapids Office. Mercedes received her B.S. in Political Science from Grand Valley State University and her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law. Mercedes is an accomplished attorney and certified civil mediator with 6+ years of experience representing clients in family law, civil law, and criminal defense matters. She is adept at handling complex caseloads, including conducting trials, negotiating settlements, and advocating for clients. Throughout her entire legal career Mercedes has strived to help the underprivileged, underserved, unrepresented and everyone in-between.

Mohamed Slim is a Law Graduate with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center’s Unaccompanied Children’s team. Mohamed studied Psychology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and earned his law degree from The University of Toledo College of Law. Mohamed comes from a family of immigrants. This led to his pursuit of immigration law in order to help those searching for a better life overcome the hardships that are associated with immigration.

Molli is a Paralegal on the UC Released Team at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. She started at MIRC as an Intake Coordinator. She has 20 years of experience as a bi-lingual advocate in Washtenaw County; working in the fields of domestic violence, sexual assault intervention/prevention and public health. Molli graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a B.A. in Social Science and Fine Art. She speaks fluent Spanish, loves to dance, take walks in nature, spend time with her family & friends, volunteer, and fight for social justice in our society.

Monica is a Staff Attorney with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center’s Released Team for
Unaccompanied Children. Monica is based in MIRC’s Detroit Office. Monica received her
bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2006 and her Juris Doctorate
from Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, MI in 2009. While in undergrad, she
studied abroad in Spain, majored in Sociology and started her lifelong advocacy for civil rights
and immigrant rights. Monica’s guiding north star is to try to always HELP -
help = Hope, Encouragement, Listen open-mindedly and Pride in her clients and our staff

Rebecca joined the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center as a Supervising Attorney in 2024.  She has been working in non-profit immigration legal services since beginning with Farmworker Legal Services after law school.  Working at Catholic Charities of Louisville, Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan, and as a pro-bono attorney for MIRC’s VAWA program, Rebecca has a broad range of skills focused on legal service administration and direct representation for clients in the family-based and humanitarian immigration processes.  As a Michigander, Rebecca graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and Western Michigan University. She is fluent in Spanish.

Sadia Ghazi is a staff attorney at Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, specifically working on the Unaccompanied Children’s Program. Sadia has experience working with children of all ages. Her experiences include teaching a semester at Hamtramck High School and East English Village High School, working with children with autism as a behavioral technician, and volunteering at a youth summer camp in Southwest Detroit. Sadia received her bachelor’s degree and her J.D. from Wayne State University. During law school, Sadia was a student attorney at the Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic, and Crime Victims Legal Assistance Project. After graduating law school, Sadia worked as a judicial advisory assistant in 7th Circuit Court of Genesee County.

Sara Afshar joined MIRC's Afghan Arrivals team as a Staff Attorney in 2022. Previously, she practiced family and humanitarian-based immigration law in Massachusetts with a focus on representing unaccompanied minors in removal proceedings. In addition to her J.D., Sara has an M.F.A. in Poetry from the University of Michigan 's Helen Zell Writing Program. Sara writes about mental health topics particular to displaced populations, informed by her own family's experience of the refugee process.  She owns and operates an urban flower farm in Ypsilanti alongside her cattle-dog/chihuahua mix, Daisy.

Sestina Real joined MIRC’s Unaccompanied Children’s Program as a Staff Attorney in March of 2022. Ses is a first generation college student and law student who is determined to dismantle existing structural inequities by any means necessary. Prior to receiving her JD from Michigan State University College of Law, Ses obtained a dual degree in Womxn Studies and African American Studies from the University of Georgia. Ses has committed her life to fighting for social justice through public interest, movement lawyering, community organizing, and various other means. She has been a grassroots organizer and activist for the last 10 years. She aims to be an effective part of building lasting and impactful mutual aid networks and coalitions within Black Liberation, Immigrant Rights, Queer Rights, Civil Rights/Liberties, and other social justice organizations and movements on a nationwide scale. Ses has interned with MIRC, and used her time at MSU’s College of Law to actively promote diversity and inclusion by taking on positions on the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, and the Multicultural Executive Council. After graduating, Ses established the “Empowerment Scholarship” award at MSU College of Law, dedicated to helping 3L’s from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds cover the expenses related to the bar exam.