Staff
Emily Smith (she/her)
Staff Attorney
Emily Smith is a staff attorney with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center’s Kalamazoo Office. She is part of a team of attorneys that represent unaccompanied children. Emily received her B.A. in Global and International Studies from Western Michigan University and received her Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership from the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance. Emily received her J.D. from Wayne State University Law School. During law school, she worked at the Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic and the Free Legal Aid Clinic. Her work is guided by the principles of social equity and social justice, and she strives to shed light on the collision of these principles with the traditional notions of charity that guide the nonprofit sector.
Emmanuel Orozco Castellanos (he/him)
Paralegal
Emmanuel is a Paralegal at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. He recently graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in international studies and translation. His past advocacy work includes translating and/or conducting research for Freedom House Detroit, InReach (formerly AsylumConnect), Perseus Strategies, and the Immigrant Justice Lab. He is a recent immigrant from Jalisco, Mexico.
Erika Mendoza (she/her)
Legal Assistant
Erika is originally from Chihuahua, Mexico. She volunteered for Michigan United providing support to the undocumented community regarding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Citizenship. Also volunteered during the COVID pandemic to spread reliable information, in English and Spanish, about the virus and vaccines available, as well as providing information about programs and supports available for unlawful families in need. She is passionate about helping and supporting immigrant people, especially children, through Michigan Immigrant Right Center. She has a Law Degree in Mexico and is fluent in Spanish.
Frishta Sadat (she/her)
Part-time Legal Assistant
Frishta Sadat started working at MIRC in July 2022. She is a legal Assistant on the Afghan Arrivals team in Kalamazoo. Originally from Kabul, Afghanistan and studied Law and political science in Afghanistan for two and half years. She is studying Criminal Justice at KVCC currently . She enjoys watching movies and walking in her free time. Frishta is fluent in Dari.
Garance Perret (she/her)
Legal Assistant
Garance is a Legal Assistant on the UC team at our Ypsilanti office. Before joining MIRC, Garance worked with various nonprofits, political campaigns, and charitable organizations to advocate for the causes that she is passionate about, such as environmental justice, progressive legislation, and immigrant rights. In 2021, she graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a B.A. in International Affairs and a minor in Communications. She is a Native French speaker and is also proficient in Spanish. As an immigrant herself, Garance is committed to using her privilege to ensure that all immigrants are given the same opportunities she was when first arriving in the U.S. as a child.
Giuliana Trinchieri (she/her)
Community Resource Coordinator
Giuliana (she/her) is a Community Resource Coordinator based out of the Ypsilanti office. She studied Archaeology and Classical Languages during her undergraduate degree and she also received a Masters degree in Museum Studies at New York University. She is from the Philadelphia area and she speaks Spanish and Italian. Her last role was as an Exhibitions Educator for children at the New York Public Library.
Gladys Gonzalez (she/her)
Legal Assistant
Gladys is a legal assistant for the Unaccompanied Minors Team in Ypsilanti. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan with an Honors degree in History. She specializes in early 20th-Century American history with a focus on the Constitution, the impact of nationalism, and social justice. She also enjoys art and music. Gladys was born in South Haven, MI to immigrant parents and has since developed a strong sense of justice and protectiveness toward the immigrant community. Her goal is to become an attorney and continue to assist the community through public policy, litigation, and overall human compassion. Gladys is fluent in Spanish.
Gonzalo Peralta (he/him)
Staff Attorney
Gonzalo Peralta joined the Michigan Immigrants Rights Center on February of 2020. Prior to starting at MIRC, he was an associate attorney for Audrey Allen Immigration Law, LLc practicing immigration law for eight years where he focused and specialized in removal defense. Gonzalo is a Penn State University and Rutgers Law School graduate. Originally from Argentina, Gonzalo is fluent in Spanish. He will be based in the Grand Rapids office focusing on workers’ rights.
Grace Erway (she/her)
Paralegal
Grace Erway is a Paralegal on the Afghan Arrivals Team in Kalamazoo. Originally from Kalamazoo, she recently graduated with her Bachelor's Degree in Anthropology/Sociology from Kalamazoo College and is a proud beneficiary of the Kalamazoo Promise scholarship. In her time at Kalamazoo College she was able to study abroad in Costa Rica and write a research based undergrad thesis, on the history of white supremacy and its presence in migrant related law. In her free time she enjoys traveling, spending time with her family, singing and bartending.
Hannah Lehker (she/her)
Program Administrator
Hannah Lehker (she/her) works in the Kalamazoo office as MIRC's Program Administrator, and is a queer, fat, white femme. Hannah started at MIRC as an intern working with migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, before becoming a Legal Assistant for the Unaccompanied Children's Program. These varied roles provided Hannah with insight into many aspects of work at MIRC, preparing her for her current position as a program-wide administrator. Hannah graduated from Kalamazoo College in 2017, with a degree in Spanish and Anthropology/Sociology. She spent six months studying in Valparaíso, Chile, and speaks Spanish. Outside of work hours you are most likely to find Hannah at the beach.
Hannah Robinson (she/her)
Staff Attorney
Hannah is a staff attorney with Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, working on the unaccompanied children's team. Originally from Georgia, Hannah received her B.S. in History and Government from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, and went on to study law at Michigan State University. Prior to her employment with MIRC, Hannah worked as a Staff Attorney specializing in Family Law at Legal Services of South Central Michigan. Hannah is dedicated to advocacy for immigrant children in the state of Michigan, both in a professional capacity and in her free time as a volunteer.
Holly Honig (she/her)
Hiring and Onboarding Administrative Assistant
Before joining MIRC, Holly held a variety of positions in the nonprofit and for-profit spaces, focusing on state policy, advocacy, business strategy, and human resources. She is an advocate for human rights and holds a firm belief that everyone deserves grace and a sense of belonging. Inspired to do more to address our systems of inequity, she recently obtained a master’s degree from Grand Valley State University and graduated with high distinction from University of Michigan where her studies focused on historically marginalized and excluded communities and their relationships with the history, theory, and practice of punishment in the United States. While at the University of Michigan, she co-founded the Sentence Commutation Project at the U-Mich law school.
Isabella Damer (she/her)
Administrative Legal Assistant
Isabella is an Administrative Legal Assistant for the Unaccompanied Children's Program in Ypsilanti, MI. She graduated from Michigan State University in 2023 with a degree in Comparative Cultures and Politics and minors in both Spanish language and Latin American and Caribbean Studies. During her time at MSU Isabella participated in many extracurricular activities that focused on advocacy and an internship abroad in Barcelona, Spain for a public-health non-profit organization. She joined MIRC in the spring of 2024, and is passionate about advocating for immigrants’ rights and social justice.
Izamar Ortiz (she/her)
Community Referrals Assistant
Izamar is a part of MIRC’s unaccompanied minors team as a Community Referrals legal assistant. She graduated from Hope College in 2015 and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Clinical Counseling at Aquinas College. She has a deep passion for advocating for families and listening to their needs and concerns. In her free time, she loves meeting new people and learning new languages.
Jaimie Lerner (she/her)
Staff Attorney
Jaimie Lerner is an attorney with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. She works on the Detroit Front Door Team, handling a wide-range of cases before the Immigration Court, State Court, Federal Court, and federal agencies. Prior to joining MIRC in 2021, she served as an Attorney Advisor at the Detroit Immigration Court and as a Judicial Law Clerk for the New York Immigration Court, part of the Executive Office for Immigration Review. She received her J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Michigan. During law school, Jaimie served as a legal intern with the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice in Washington D.C., as well as a student clinician with the Immigration Justice Clinic and Human Rights and Atrocity Prevention Clinic for Cardozo in New York. As a law student, she was an Assistant Coach and prior competitor for the Cardozo Moot Court Team at the University of Oxford Media Law Competition in Oxford, England, examining international law and freedom of expression concerns.
Jennifer Vanegas (she/her)
Supervising Attorney
Jennifer Vanegas joined the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center in April 2019. Previously, she was a workers' rights attorney at Farmworker Legal Services. During law school, she served as a student attorney with the Washtenaw County Office of Public Defender, WMU-Cooley Innocence Project, and St Vincent Catholic Charities Immigration Law Clinic. Jennifer is a fluent Spanish speaker and graduated from Western Michigan University with a BA in Spanish and minor in Social Work and received her JD from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. She is based in MIRC's Grand Rapids office and works with unaccompanied children who are in removal proceedings.
Jessie Isaacs (she/her)
Administrative Legal Assistant
Jessie is a Legal Assistant for the Unaccompanied Children’s Team, based out of the Kalamazoo office. She started her experience at MIRC as an intern from Western Michigan University in the spring of 2023. She graduated from Western with a B.S. in Speech Pathology, a B.A. in Spanish, and a minor in American Sign Language. She is passionate about advocating for those in her community. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, going on walks with her dog, and exploring new hobbies.
Joan Smith (she/her)
Legal Assistant
Joan Smith is the Legal Assistant to the Immigration Court Helpdesk program. She is based out of the Ypsilanti office, but primarily works at Immigration Court. Prior to MIRC, Joan taught ELL and GED classes to adults in Southwest Detroit. She also spent a year living and working at a migrant shelter in Guatemala, near the Mexican border. She loves language and language learning, and is near fluent in Spanish. She graduated from Loyola University of Chicago with Bachelor's degrees in Anthropology and French, and has a Master’s degree in Communication from Oakland University. She is committed to dismantling our violent immigration system.
Júlia Miyahara (she/her)
Legal Assistant
Júlia joined MIRC in 2023 as a Legal Assistant with the Immigration Court Helpdesk program. Being an immigrant from Brasil with Japanese grandparents, she is committed to standing in solidarity with all immigrants, especially those sidelined by the legal system. Júlia graduated with a B.A. in International Affairs from Eastern Michigan University, where she focused her studies in Latin American politics, human rights, and community-led development. After graduation, she collaborated on research for the non-profit International Samaritan and worked as a nanny. In her free time, Júlia enjoys reading, cooking with her friends, and doing nail art.
Juliana Hafner (she/her)
Supervising Program Coordinator
Juliana Hafner is a Supervising Program Coordinator on the UC Team in Kalamazoo. Originally from Colombia, she has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from La Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá. Juliana has worked in the non-profit sector since 2016, first supporting the implementation of The Restorative Justice Approach in a juvenile detention facility in Colombia, later on providing preventional information about sexual abuse to preschools in low-income areas of Bogotá. Before her current role as a Legal Assistant, Juliana was the Director of Family and Youth Programs at El Concilio Kalamazoo.
Katerin Solorzano (she/her)
Paralegal
Katerin “Kat” Solorzano was born and raised in Guatemala, and she and her family immigrated to the US in 2005. Kat is a DACA recipient which allowed her to earn her Paralegal Studies Certificate from MCC, and she has actively practiced alongside multiple Metro-Detroit Immigration Attorneys for the past 7 years, specifically within the family based-sector. She is fluent in Spanish and English, has two cats and is a documentary fanatic.
Katie White (she/her)
Law Graduate
Katherine White joined Michigan Immigrant Rights Center in May of 2021. Previously, Katherine founded Immigrant Connection at City Life Church, a low-cost immigration law office, serving as the Executive Director and a Department of Justice Representative. She received her Juris Doctor from Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School and holds a B.A. in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in Human Rights from Grand Valley State University. She is based in MIRC's Grand Rapids office and is fluent in Spanish.
Lauren LaLonde (she/her)
Supervising Program Coordinator
Lauren joined MIRC in January of 2022, and is a Supervising Program Coordinator for the Unaccompanied Children’s Team in Grand Rapids, MI. She recently graduated from Western Michigan University with a double major in Spanish and Political Science. She first worked at MIRC as an intern in 2018, before studying abroad for the following year in Cuba and New Zealand. Lauren is passionate about immigrant rights, and working to support immigrants in her community. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and skydiving. She is proficient in Spanish.
Lexi Andre (she/her)
Supervising Attorney
Lexi Andre joined MIRC’s Unaccompanied Children’s Program as a Staff Attorney in May 2021. She received her J.D. from University of Michigan Law School where she served as a student attorney with the Human Trafficking Clinic and the Criminal Appellate Practice Clinic. She also interned for the Law Reform and Development Commission of Namibia, International Service for Human Rights, and the Family Law Project. Lexi also attended University of Michigan for her undergraduate degree in Classical Languages and Literatures with a minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies.