Who we are

The National Immigrant Justice Center (formerly the Midwest Immigrant & Human Rights Center) ensures human rights protections and access to justice for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers through direct legal services, policy reform, impact litigation, and public education.

Since its founding, the Center has been unique in building on the foundation of client representation to promote national systemic reform. With five offices in the greater metropolitan Chicago area, a staff that includes licensed attorneys, Board of Immigration Appeals-accredited representatives and paralegals, and the support of hundreds of volunteer attorneys, NIJC provides comprehensive immigration legal services and an open intake and telephone inquiry service to immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. NIJC builds on the foundation of its core legal services to inform strategic advocacy, litigation, and public education efforts that enhance access to justice and protection for vulnerable immigrants.

About Heartland Alliance

NIJC is a program of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights, an anti-poverty, human rights organization that provides housing, health care, and human services to improve the lives of impoverished Chicagoans. Once known as Travelers’ & Immigrants’ Aid, Heartland Alliance has been helping the most marginalized men, women, and children through services and advocacy since 1888.
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Staff

Maria Bernal is an Equal Justice Works Fellow working mainly with NIJC's General Immigrant Services Project. Her two-year fellowship focuses on due process violations that hinder immigrants' access to justice. She works to combat due process violations through direct legal representation, community outreach, and advocacy. Prior to becoming an Equal Justice Works Fellow at NIJC, Maria worked as a paralegal with NIJC's detention project. She also worked with the Migrant Project at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, which provided direct legal services to migrant farmworkers in the Midwest. Maria received her J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in May 2005. Maria was admitted to the Illinois State Bar in 2005. mbernal[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Melissa Bernfeld, staff attorney with NIJC’s General Immigrant Services and New Americans Initiative, provides administrative representation and deportation defense to immigrants at NIJC’s Pilsen office. Melissa first developed a strong interest in immigration issues as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison while conducting research on migrant farmer working conditions in San Juan, Texas; and later, as a union organizer for low-wage immigrant workers in Chicago. Prior to joining NIJC as a staff attorney, Melissa worked as an Equal Justice Works Summer Corps Volunteer and as a paralegal for NIJC’s General Immigrant Services and VAWA projects. Melissa graduated from DePaul University College of Law in 2006 and is licensed in the state of Illinois. mbernfeld[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Kayla Casey is a paralegal with general immigrant services and the New Americans Initiative. She graduated from Loyola University Chicago in December 2006, with a degree in Political Science and Spanish. Prior to joining NIJC, Kayla worked with immigrant and refugee populations through Amnesty International in Santiago, Chile, and Centro Romero and the Interfaith Workers Justice Center in Chicago. kcasey[at]heartlandallince[dot]org

Rocío Castañeda is a paralegal with General Immigrant Services and with New Americans Initiative in our Pilsen office. Prior to joining our staff, she volunteered with immigrant and refugee populations in North Chicago. In 2006, Rocío received a B.S. in Anthropology and a B.A. in International Studies from Loyola University Chicago. Her area of concentration and research focuses on Border Studies, specifically the Mexico-U.S. border. rcastaneda2[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Rosa Castañeda is the receptionist for NIJC’s Berwyn-Cicero office. Rosa performs a wide range of administrative and operational duties to maintain the Berwyn-Cicero office, including file maintenance and client scheduling. In addition, Rosa assists with client intake and translation. rcastaneda[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Linus Chan, a 2002 Northwestern School of Law graduate, developed an interest in public interest and human rights as a law student. While at Northwestern, he worked at the Center for Wrongful Convictions with Professor Larry Marshall on death penalty reform and helped found the International Journal of Human Rights. Linus first worked with the National Immigrant Justice Center (formerly the Midwest Immigrant Human Rights Center) as a summer associate at a corporate law firm. After a clerkship with the Honorable Pasco Bowman II on the Eighth Circuit in Kansas City, Missouri, Linus returned to Chicago where he had a short stint working with Eddie Genson, the prominent criminal defense attorney. Linus joined the National Immigrant Justice Center as a staff attorney on the Detention Project. He is licensed in the state of Illinois and currently works with people detained by the Department of Homeland security and represents them in Immigration court and the Federal court systems. lchan[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Maren Christensen is a paralegal with the immigrant legal defense project as well as the New Americans Initiative at NIJC's Pilsen office. Prior to joining NIJC, Maren has worked as a program developer with the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority and as an internship program coordinator with the Human Rights Program at the University of Chicago. She has also interned with a women's rights organization in Oaxaca, Mexico. Maren graduated from the University of Chicago in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy and Human Rights. mchristensen[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Jenny Dale works as a paralegal with NIJC’s Immigrant Legal Defense and the New Americans Initiative projects. In 2006, Jenny graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Latin American Studies. She has been involved in Latin American solidarity work and immigrant advocacy organizations in the U.S. and interned with community based development organizations in El Salvador and Nicaragua. jdale[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Norma Duron-Rojas is a Board of Immigration Appeals-accredited representative and provides direct services and support for family-based immigration cases. Norma works at the National Immigrant Justice Center's Waukegan location. nduronrojas[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Karolyn Eilers is an Equal Justice Works Fellow, sponsored by Winston & Strawn, for NIJC’s Immigrant Anti-Fraud Project. The project offers a new, preventative approach to combating the problem of unscrupulous individuals, known as "notarios," in immigrant communities, who provide immigration legal advice and assistance without any knowledge of the law and its complexity. Through this project, Karrie provides direct legal representation to immigrant victims of notary fraud as well as direct outreach to vulnerable immigrant communities and their service providers in Chicago and the outlying suburbs. In addition, Karrie serves as a liaison between immigrant victims of fraud and the appropriate government agencies involved in prosecuting fraudulent legal service providers. Karrie graduated from the Univeristy of Iowa College of Law in 2002 and was admitted to the Illinois State Bar in 2002. keilers[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Jonathan Eoloff, the staff attorney for the National Asylum Partnership on Sexual Orientation (NAPSO), provides legal assistance to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) asylum seekers and immigrants who are HIV-positive. In addition, Jonathan develops partnerships with service providers and pro bono attorneys nationwide to distribute outreach materials and build national capacity for representing immigrants fleeing persecution on account of their sexual orientation or HIV status. Prior to joining NIJC, Jonathan was an associate attorney with the Mexican Capital Legal Assistance Program, where he provided litigation support to defense attorneys representing Mexican nationals facing capital charges or who are on death row in the United States. Jonathan is a 2004 graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and is licensed by the State of Minnesota. jeoloff[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Miguel Figueroa is a paralegal for NIJC’s General Immigrant Services and its New Americans Initiative, a statewide project that seeks to naturalize eligible immigrants in the greater Chicagoland area. Miguel has worked with immigrants in Puerto Rico and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay. He has a degree in History and Psychology from Indiana University. mfigueroa[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Lisa Galicia serves as NIJC's associate director and manages administrative and fiscal operations including resource development, budget formulation and monitoring, contract compliance, human resources coordination, and community partnerships. Lisa has over fifteen years of experience in academia and social service management, having served most recently as the deputy director of Erie Neighborhood House and the associate director of the University of Chicago's Center for Latin American Studies. Lisa has a Master's Degree in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh. lgalicia[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Emmanuel Garcia is the receptionist for NIJC’s Pilsen Office. Emmanuel oversees all operational and office support functions and assists with client intake and legal consultation scheduling. As a writer and visual artist, Emmanuel also contributes to SCENE magazine, Identity, and the Windy City Times. egarcia[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Tom Herman is a paralegal for NIJC’s general immigrant services at the Ravenswood office. Before coming to NIJC, Tom spent two years in Santiago, Chile, working at a home for children, and one year working in Brooklyn, New York, for a job training non-profit organization. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he earned his B.A. in the Program of Liberal Studies, or the Great Books Program. therman[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Angela Hernandez is a Board of Immigration Appeals-accredited representative for NIJC's Berwyn-Cicero office. Angela began volunteering for NIJC's Asylum Project in March 2002 and has been a staff member since 2003 for the domestic violence and general immigrant services projects. Angela obtained a B.A. from the University of Chicago in June 2002. ahernandez[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Laura Ashby-Herrick is a paralegal for NIJC's general immigrant services. Laura provides immigration information and legal assistance to immigrants, translates documents, and provides legal and medical interpretation for clients. Before coming to NIJC, Laura was the Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions at National Louis University in Chicago. At the University, she provided counseling and immigration education to language minority students as well as foreign students. She recently retired from City Colleges of Chicago where she taught English as a second language to immigrants from many different countries. Laura received her M.A. in Applied Linguistics from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. lherrick[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Megan Johnson works as a paralegal in the Waukegan office. Previously, she worked for Senator Russ Feingold’s Progressive Patriot Fund, for which she was sent to Pennsylvania to work on Lois Murphy’s congressional campaign. In 2005, Megan lived and studied for one semester in Chile through a program at the University of Notre Dame. Also during college, she assisted in teaching an English as a Second Language class and had a summer internship with Catholic Charities in Waukegan. Megan graduated from Notre Dame in Anthropology and International Peace Studies in May 2006.

Katherine Kaufka is currently the Supervising Attorney and Legal Coordinator for the National Immigrant Justice Center’s Counter-Trafficking Services program in Chicago. In addition to providing direct representation to victims of human trafficking and other serious crimes, she prepares materials and conducts outreach and training about human trafficking to law enforcement, service providers, and advocates across the nation. Ms. Kaufka has published "The Commodification of Domestic Care: Illegitimacy of Care Work and the Exploitation of Migrant Workers" in the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, (Fall 2003) and "T Nonimmigrant Visas and Protection and Relief for Victims of Human Trafficking: A Practioner's Guide" in Immigration Briefings (October 2006). She received her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her B.A and B.S. from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and is licensed in the state of Wisconsin. kkaufka[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Lisa Koop, supervising attorney for NIJC's Asylum Project, provides deportation-defense and administrative representation to low-income immigrants at NIJC's Loop office. Before joining NIJC, Lisa completed a two-year fellowship at the Notre Dame Legal Clinic, where she taught and supervised law students who handled immigration cases. Lisa graduated from Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis in 2004 and is licensed in Indiana. lkoop[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Steve Laxton is a staff attorney with NIJC and handles deportation defense and administrative cases for NIJC’s general immigrant services. Steve is a 2005 graduate of DePaul College of Law and is licensed in the State of Wisconsin. slaxton[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Bing Luo is the paralegal for NIJC's Children's Project. She assists the Children's Project staff attorney in providing legal representation to unaccompanied immigrant children. Bing is a 2002 L.L.M graduate from Northwestern University School of Law. bluo[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Tara Magner is NIJC’s Director of Policy. Her responsibilities include analyzing developments in immigration law and policy and advocating for positive reform in Congress and within Executive Branch agencies. Tara joined the staff after serving as a counsel to Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont on the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. In her five years on Senator Leahy’s committee staff, Tara handled immigration, refugee and human rights issues. Prior to that, she served as Deputy Director of the Winston Foundation, a private foundation that awarded grants on international human rights, refugee protection, and conflict resolution. Tara is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and is admitted to the bar in Maryland. tmagner[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

CiCi Malik works as a paralegal with NIJC’s General Immigrant Services and New Americans Initiative. In addition to providing legal counseling for a variety of immigration and naturalization cases, CiCi conducts volunteer trainings and participates in the planning and execution of suburban citizenship workshops. CiCi graduated from Colby College in 2004 with a B.A. in Spanish and Biology. cmalik[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Mary Meg McCarthy has served as the director of NIJC since 1998 and oversees all aspects of NIJC’s legal services and advocacy on behalf of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers as well as programmatic and operational functions of NIJC. Under Mary Meg’s direction, NIJC has built a pro bono network of more than 700 attorneys in Chicago alone and has become the leading immigrant and human rights program in the Midwest. Prior to joining NIJC in 1998, Mary Meg practiced civil litigation at the law firm of Horvath & Lieber and served as a pro bono attorney for NIJC’s asylum project. Mary Meg is a 1989 graduate of Loyola University School of Law and is licensed by the State of Illinois. mmccarthy[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Jefferson Mok serves as the Asylum Project Coordinator and Pro Bono Attorney Coordinator for NIJC. Jeff conducts intake interviews for potential asylum seekers and ensures that all of NIJC's aslyum clients are well-represented by capable and dedicated attorneys either at NIJC or at some of the city's top law firms. His considerable casework and connections with over 700 pro bono attorneys has helped maintain a success rate of over 90% for asylum-seekers NIJC assists. Jeff graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa where he majored in French and Philosophy. jmok[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Claudia Morales is the immigrant services advocate for NIJC’s Counter-Trafficking Project. In addition to providing direct representation to victims of human trafficking, Claudia coordinates pro bono involvement, conducts outreach and education on trafficking issues throughout the Midwest, and spearheads advocacy efforts for trafficking victims. cmorales[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Hillary Richardson is an accredited representative for NIJC's Detention Project. Hillary conducts legal intakes, screening, and case preparation for detained immigrants and asylum seekers. She also conducts legal orientation presentations to detainees held in Midwest facilities. Prior to joining NIJC, Hillary interned for Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, and for the Center for Victims of Torture in Minneapolis. Hillary is a graduate of Earlham College, where she received a B.A. in English. hrichardson[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Esperanza Rodriguez is the receptionist for NIJC’s office in downtown Chicago and helps to manage all administrative needs of the office. Esperanza has been working for NIJC since 1987. erodriguez[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Chuck Roth is the director of litigation for NIJC. He provides legal support to pro bono attorneys and serves as the liaison for litigation cases in which NIJC acts as co-counsel with major law firms. Chuck is a 1996 graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School and is licensed by the State of New York. croth[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Mony Ruiz-Velasco is the director of legal services for NIJC's general immigrant services, citizenship, and gender-based protection projects. Mony worked with NIJC in 2001-2002, and afterward worked in private immigration law practice. Previously, Mony was an attorney advisor under the Attorney General's Honors Program at the Executive Office for Immigration Review. Mony is a 1999 graduate of St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas and is licensed in Texas. mruizvelasco[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Nora Salgado is a paralegal working with NIJC’s Gender Justice Initiative and Immigrant Legal Defense Projects. Nora graduated from Northeastern Illinois University in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. Prior to joining NIJC, she worked as a court advocate on behalf of domestic violence victims in DuPage County.

DeMark Schulze works as program coordinator and serves as assistant to the director for NIJC. He performs a broad range of program support services for the organization, including coordinating interns and volunteers, managing web operations, and planning special events. Before joining NIJC, DeMark worked at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice in San Diego. DeMark received a B.S. in Biology and Anthropology from University of Notre Dame. dschulze[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Tara Tidwell Cullen is the communications coordinator for NIJC. She previously served as the managing editor of Cultural Survival Quarterly, a magazine that covers human rights issues facing the world's indigenous peoples, and has been a freelance reporter and organizer for a number of other social justice organizations. She received a degree in journalism and international studies from Northwestern University. ttidwellcullen[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Elena Tsinikas is a paralegal for NIJC’s Detention Project. Elena conducts legal intakes, screening, and case preparation for detained immigrants and asylum seekers. She also conducts legal orientation presentations to detainees held in Midwest facilities. Elena is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Policy. etsinikas[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Claudia Valenzuela is the supervising attorney for NIJC’s Detention Project. Claudia conducts legal orientation presentations to detainees and represents detainees in immigration proceedings throughout the Midwest. Prior to her graduation from the DePaul University College of Law in 2002, Claudia served as a legal intern for NIJC developing a program for outreach and legal services to Chicago’s Guatemalan and Salvadoran communities. Claudia is licensed by the State of Illinois. cvalenzuela[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Esperanza Walczak is the receptionist for NIJC’s downtown office and has provided primary office management and support for NIJC’s staff and clients for more than 20 years. ewalczak[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Eleni Wolfe-Roubatis is a paralegal with Immigrant Legal Defense, Gender Justice Initiative, Immigrant Detention Protection, and the New Americans Initiative projects. Prior to working with NIJC, Eleni interned with NIJC's Detention Project as an Equal Justice Works Summer Corps Volunteer. She previously worked at Pilsen's Latinos Progresando providing family based immigration services, VAWA services and assisting with asylum petitions. Eleni will be graduating from DePaul College of Law in May 2007. ewolfe[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org

Reyna Zuniga is the senior administrative assistant for NIJC, and maintains all NIJC’s data entry and filing systems, including opening and closing of cases. Reyna provides assistance to NIJC’s receptionists and screens incoming calls for immigration and other services. Reyna serves as a Notary Public and translator. Reyna has worked at NIJC for 25 years. rzuniga[at]heartlandalliance[dot]org