The Trump administration's immigration changes have had profound consequences. In our new episode, we hear from two expert immigration attorneys about the legal landscape and the human stories behind the headlines. Don't miss this crucial conversation. Listen Now. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
Sarah Yore-VanOosterhout, Founder, Advocacy Director& Managing Attorney of Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates. Sarah graduated from Calvin University with bachelor degrees in social work and Spanish. Sarah later attended Michigan State University College of Law where she studied immigration and public interest law. Following law school, Sarah jumped into immigration legal services at the Diocese of Grand Rapids Immigration Legal Services. Later, she did contract and private practice work while working to open her own nonprofit immigration law office in Holland, Michigan. In 2015, she pioneered Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates, a thriving and quickly-growing legal services and advocacy center serving West Michigan. Sarah also serves as the chair of the State Bar of Michigan Immigration Law Section. When she's not working, you can find Sarah tending to her plants (inside and outside!),hiking, backpacking, reading, painting, or snuggling with her very scruffy rescue mutts, Milo and Otis. Sarah's most favorite life event was when she became mom to Evie and Bay (15 and 11), two kiddos who have, since day one, kept her grounded in the midst of a chaotic world and vocation.
Susan E. Reed co-founded Michigan Immigrant Rights Center(MIRC) at the Michigan Advocacy Program to expand access to immigration legal services and advance pro-immigrant policy in Michigan. Susan has led and partnered on advocacy and impact litigation that has: developed public funding for immigration legal services at the federal, state, county, and city level; preserved and expanded Medicaid access for approximately 85,000 noncitizens; recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost and stolen wages for immigrant workers; advanced civil rights for detained immigrants and people of color targeted by immigration enforcement; and secured legal immigration status and citizenship for thousands of individual clients. Susan was appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court to the inaugural Foreign Language Board of Review following her participation in successful advocacy for the court rule that created the board and expanded language access in Michigan's courts. She has represented immigrant and immigrant rights interests as a long-time member of the Michigan State Planning Body for Legal Services and as part of several State Bar of Michigan initiatives. She is a proud member of the first class of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Network. Susan is a graduate of Marquette University and the University of Minnesota Law School.
Abril Valdes Siewert has dedicated her career to social justice. Ms. Siewert specializes in immigration law at Valdes Law, PLLC. She is also an instructor for Oakland University’s paralegal program teaching immigration law.
Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates: www.lia-michigan.org
Michigan Immigrant Rights Center: www.michiganimmigrant.org
Learn more about immigration law:
Join the SBM’s Immigration Law Section! www.michbar.org/sections/home
Join the American Immigration Lawyers Association www.aila.org
Nonpartisan/unaffiliated news and research:
Book: Separated Family and Community in the Aftermath of an Immigration Raid
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