Level: All
In this webinar, the ILRC is partnering with Cornell Law School’s Path2Papers, Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and The Dream.US to provide an overview and update on the Biden administration's recent changes to streamline nonimmigrant visa policies for DACA beneficiaries and Dreamers and parole in place to keep families together. The webinar will specifically discuss what these policy changes mean, who it applies to, and how persons can prepare.
Presenters
Veronica Garcia, Staff Attorney - Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Veronica joined the ILRC in December 2017 as a San Joaquin Valley Law Fellow. Prior to joining ILRC, Veronica completed an Equal Justice Works Fellowship at Centro Legal de La Raza as an DACA/DAPA Emerson Fellow. Veronica is a graduate of Howard University School of Law. During Law school, Veronica interned at various immigrant right organizations, including Kids in Need of Defense and New York Legal Aid. Additionally, Veronica was recognized by the Hispanic Bar Association of Washington D.C. (HBA-DC) for her commitment to the advancement of the Hispanic community by being awarded the inaugural HBA-DC Foundation Scholarship.
As an immigrant who grew up in Oakland California, Veronica strives to use her legal education and experience working directly with immigrant communities.
Dan Berger, Project Attorney - Path2Papers, Cornell Law School
Dan Berger is a partner at the immigration law firm of Curran, Berger & Kludt in Northampton, MA; an immigration fellow/visiting scholar at Cornell Law School; and an honorary fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. He is on the Legal Advisory Board of the Presidents’ Alliance on Immigration and Higher Education, on the Legal Advisory Council of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, and a member of the USCIS Liaison Committee and the Afghanistan Task Force for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).
Dan is a frequent writer and speaker on immigration, including after the 2020 election for the Brookings Institute on recommendations for the Biden/Harris Administration and also on strategies to support international entrepreneurs. He co-edited updated editions of Immigration Options for Academics and Researchers and the International Adoption Sourcebook released in 2021. He also wrote an Issue Brief for the American Council on Education (ACE) after the 2016 election, and was a coauthor on a “Note” on immigration in 2017 for the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA). Dan has been quoted in various media including the Atlantic, USA Today, Al Jazeera, and the Huffington Post, and is an advisor for the American Immigration Council on their informational website on STEM immigration initiatives.
AILA recently awarded Dan the President’s Commendation for “exemplary service to the President and AILA,” including being on the USCIS Headquarters Liaison Committee, writing practice advisories, serving on the AILA Afghanistan Taskforce, and being on the editorial board of the AILA Law Journal.
Dan has a particular focus on DACA and undocumented students, evaluating options for longer term status, including in monthly sessions for students at thedream.us and the International Language Institute Free English Program. He is also an immigration law advisor on a grant on the use of DNA technology in immigration, and coauthored a peer reviewed article in Science on the use of DNA technology to address family separation at the border.
Dan developed his interest in immigration at Harvard University, where he studied immigration history and taught English to adult refugees. He graduated from Cornell Law School and practiced immigration law for over 20 years. His current resume can be found here.
Krsna Avila, Project Attorney - Path2Papers, Cornell Law School
Krsna is based in San Francisco, California, and joins Cornell Law School’s Path2Papers with a wealth of personal and professional immigration experience. Krsna immigrated from Mexico to the United States as a child.
Prior to joining Path2Papers, Krsna worked at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center as an attorney focused on DACA advocacy and implementation, among other issues relating to noncitizens. Krsna also worked as the legal services manager at Immigrants Rising where he provided legal support to undocumented youth throughout the country.
At Cornell Law School, Krsna worked at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Washington, DC, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California. He also participated in the Asylum and Convention Against Torture Appellate Clinic at Cornell Law School, where he helped represent clients before the Board of Immigration Appeals. Krsna also volunteered with the European Council on Refugees and was an editorial member for the Cornell Legal Information Institute U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin.
Krsna earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California–Davis; and his law degree from Cornell Law School where he received the 2017 Freeman Award for Civil-Human Rights for his commitment to civil rights and public service.
Gaby Pacheco, President & CEO - TheDream.US
Maria Gabriela (“Gaby”) Pacheco, an influential immigrant rights and education leader from Miami, Florida, is the President and CEO of TheDream.US. As an immigrant with a mixed-status family, she intimately understands the complexities and challenges faced by immigrant families in the US. For two decades, Pacheco has played a pivotal role in advocating for immigration and immigrant rights. In 2010, alongside three undocumented students, she led the Trail of Dreams, a remarkable four-month walk from Miami to Washington, DC. Two years later, she spearheaded efforts to establish the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Pacheco made history as the first undocumented Latina to testify before Congress on April 22, 2013, addressing the Senate Judiciary Committee and highlighting the urgent need for immigration reform.
Pacheco’s exceptional contributions have garnered recognition and accolades. She was listed in Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30: Education” and “40 Under 40: Latinos in American Politics.” She received an Honorary Doctoral Degree in Humanities from The New School in 2015 and was featured in Elle magazine’s 30th-anniversary issue, “This is 30,” alongside the world’s 30 most notable women. She also appeared on the June 2012 TIME Magazine cover along with 30 other immigrant leaders.
Pacheco is a highly sought-after national political analyst, regularly sharing her expertise on networks such as Univision, Telemundo, MSNBC, CNN, and CNN en Español. She has also contributed opinion pieces to newspapers such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today.
Despite being undocumented, Pacheco fought for higher education and earned multiple degrees in education from Miami Dade College.
On June 21, 2023, Pacheco achieved one of her biggest dreams and became a naturalized US Citizen. Gaby resides in Miami with her husband and their five rescued dogs.
Anita Gupta, Managing Attorney of Legal Programs - Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education & Immigration
Anita Gupta is the Managing Attorney of Legal Programs and Initiatives at the Presidents’ Alliance. She leads the new Legal Pathways that Work Initiative which seeks to increase non-citizen students’ access to employment-based immigration pathways through educational resources, legal services, and a fellowship program. Anita has practiced immigration law for over ten years and has dedicated her career to immigrant rights. She is also an adjunct professor with Villanova University’s Immigration Studies program.
Prior to joining the Presidents’ Alliance, Anita was a senior staff attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, where she led the organization’s deportation defense team, and she regularly conducted trainings on immigration law, provided legal technical assistance, and authored practice manuals and advisories for immigration and criminal defense practitioners across the country. She also partnered with community advocates and local government officials to strategize, pass, and implement local policies that reduce the arrest-to-deportation pipeline, such as the first cite and release ordinance in Texas. Anita previously worked in private practice, specializing in deportation defense and humanitarian-based immigration relief, and she was a staff attorney at American Gateways and the National Immigrant Justice Center, where she represented low-income immigrants in a wide variety of matters. Anita earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her law degree from DePaul University.