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Helena Marissa Montes-1

Helena Marissa Montes, Esq.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Immigrant Justice Clinic (“LIJC”), Los Angeles, California

Founder/Director/Visiting Associate Clinical Professor January 2013- Present

Teach both substantive and procedural law as it relates to clients’ cases and the lawyering and advocacy skills necessary to be an

effective immigrants’ rights attorney. Develop curriculum and teaching materials, evaluate students, select clients and manage

clinic operations. Supervise and mentor students representing indigent noncitizen clients seeking humanitarian forms of relief,

including survivors of trafficking and severe persecution, located in the East Los Angeles area, specifically the constituents of

Dolores Mission Parish and Homeboy Industries. Review students written work, client interactions and oral advocacy in a variety

of matters, including minors seeking special immigrant juvenile status, applications to secure status for survivors of crime,

litigation and advocacy projects. Direct community workshops and forums targeted at educating community members in a variety

of immigration related issues. Developed and launched Loyola’s Immigration Law and Border Practicum, where students

provided free legal representation to immigrants in removal proceedings before the Executive Office of Immigration Review in El

Paso, Texas.

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon’s Transition Team, Los Angeles, California November 2020-Present

Immigration Committee Member

Appointed by District Attorney Elect George Gascon to serve on the immigration committee of his transition team.

Responsibilities include drafting the Los Angeles District Attorney’s policy directives regarding the treatment of immigrant victims

and defendants, in particular as to the immigration consequences of criminal convictions and protocols regarding U and T visa

certifications for survivors of crime and trafficking.

Commission on Civil and Human Rights, Los Angeles, California

Civil and Human Rights Commissioner, Vice Chair and Chair September 2019- May 2023

Appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to serve as a commissioner on the newly created Los Angeles Commission on Civil

and Human Rights. Responsibilities include overseeing complaints brought forth by Los Angeles Residents and drafting

recommendations as to anti-discriminatory law and policy that is to be presented to the city. Engage in community events and

dialogue on behalf of the commission have assisted in the drafting of commission bylaws.

ITESO- Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara, Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico

Visiting Professor Summers of 2018-2023

Responsibilities include teaching comparative law course in Mexican and United States “Immigration, Asylum and Refugee law” to

undergraduate students studying in the areas of international relations, political science, law and sociology. Course includes

exposure to alternative U.S. immigration humanitarian forms of relief, current events and application of the law through actual

case studies. Course was taught in Spanish. Serving as Visiting Professor, also includes a commitment of servicing local shelters

for migrants in transit and deportees. Currently creating joint project that would allow an exchange program of Loyola and ITESO

students engaging in binational immigrant rights advocacy.

California Department of Justice, Calgang Database Technical Advisory Board, Sacramento

California Advisory Board Member March 2018- Present

Appointed by Former California State Senator Kevin De Leon to serve as the advisory board member with immigration expertise.

Responsibilities include overseeing and drafting regulations for the California Department of Justice regarding all shared gang

databases in California.

Homeboy Industries, Los Angeles, California

Law Clerk for Criminal Defense Attorney Eleanor Miller Fall 2010- Fall 2012

Developed an Immigration and Criminality Project in conjunction with Dolores Mission, Loyola’s Immigration Law Society and

the Mexican American Bar Association. Created workshops to educate clients regarding rights, options for immigration relief and

immigration bars. Conducted immigration intake and prepared affirmative adjustment of status applications under the guidance

of MABA immigration attorneys.

Public Counsel Law Center, Los Angeles, California

Law Clerk for Immigrants’ Rights Project Summer 2011, Spring 2102

Completed U-Visa, Adjustment of Status, Visa Extensions, Temporary Protected Status applications and SIJS motions. Worked

directly with clients, completed declarations and conducted intake at the Santa Ana Detention Center.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Los Angeles, California

Law Clerk for the National Security and Immigrants’ Rights Project Spring 2011

Researched constitutional issues regarding prolonged detention, treatment of incapacitated immigrant detainees, and the CDCR’s

visitation policy; drafted memoranda, served as a court observer, conducted intakes and completed declarations.

Kids In Need of Defense (KIND), Los Angeles, California

Law Clerk for Probono Coordinators Lindsay Lang & Gladis Molina Summer 2010

Conducted intakes and identified forms of immigration relief for clients. Worked with coordinators to place cases and assisted pro

bono attorneys in completing Asylum and SIJS applications.

Helena Marissa Montes-2

USC Immigration Clinic, Los Angeles, California

Intern for Niels Frenzen, USC Gould School of Law Summer 2007-Spring 2009

Conducted client intakes and worked on asylum, Violence Against Women Act applications, work permits, and residency petitions.

Provided assistance as a translator and interpreter for law students. Researched the growth of gangs in Central America and effect

of migration to support asylum cases. Visited detention centers in San Pedro and Lancaster, CA and Pearsall, TX assisting with

translation and preparing clients for hearings.

National Immigration Law Center (NILC), Los Angeles, California

Intern for the Immigrant Labor Division Summer 2006

Worked with Attorney Karen Tumlin to gather information regarding the Hoffman Plastics Supreme Court case; wrote articles for

the NILC monthly newsletter.

EDUCATION

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles

Juris Doctor Recipient, May 2012

Honors: Loyola Law School Public Interest Scholar, Mexican American Bar Foundation Scholar, Latina Lawyers Bar

Association Scholarship Recipient, A+ in Immigration Law

University of Southern California, Los Angeles

Bachelor of Art in International Relations & Spanish with Honors, Spring 2009

Honors: Cum Laude, Blue Key Honor Society, USC Order of Troy Senior Recognition, USC College of Letters, Arts and

Science Dean’s list (Fall 2007- Spring 2009), USC Mexican American Alumni Scholarship

FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS

Hispanic National Bar Association, Top Lawyers Under 40, 2019

American Bar Foundation Fellow, 2018

American Bar Association, On the Rise, Top 40 Young Lawyers, 2017

Loyola Law School Post-Graduate Public Interest Fellow, 2012

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ACTIVITIES: Mexican American Bar Association (o-5 Trustee 2018-2019),

American Immigration Lawyers Association (Law Student Liaison 2016-2017), American Bar Association, Hispanic National Bar

Association (HNBA Latina Commissioner 2017-2020) Faculty Supervisor for La Raza de Loyola, Los Angeles VAWA Network

(2012-Present)

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

Universidad de Guanajuato Jornadas Sobre El Derecho del Asilo, Realidades de La Frontera y el Derecho del Asilo en los EEUU,

Guajuato, Guanajuato, June 29th, 2023.

Annual Chicano Fest hosted by the Universidad de Guadalajara and the ITESO, Tacticas Colectivas Para La Resistencia,

Integracion, Inclusion y Exclusion, Guadalajara, Jalisco, May 4th, 2023.

The American Association of Law School’s Clinical Conference, Building a Praxis of Hope as Resistance and Wellness, San

Francisco, California, April 30

, 2023.

Trauma Informed Los Angeles, Sexual Assault Awareness, Los Angeles (Online), April 12, 2023.

SALT, Critical Love Theory of Rest and Resistance, Chicago, Illinois, October 14

, 2023.

Self Help Graphics and We Rise Art Exhibition, Donut (W)hole and a Conversation on Asylum and Refugees, Los Angeles,

California, May 14

, 2022.

Tecnologico de Monterrey- Guadalajara Campus, Seminario sobre Personas Migrantes y Refugiadas: Perspectiva, vivencia y

retos en el Occidente de Mexico, Guadalajara, Mexico, April 4th, 2022.

Los Angeles Civil and Human Rights and Equity Department, Employment Rights and Justice for Workers, Los Angeles (Online),

California, October 28

, 2021.

The American Association of Law School’s Clinical Conference, Lawyering Over the Line, Los Angeles (Online), California, April

,2021.

J. Ruben Clark Law Society Primer Congreso Latino Americano De Probono, Modelos De Atencion Juridica Para Personas

Migrantes y Refugiadas, Mexico City, Mexico November 21, 2020.

IBERO-Tijuana Coloquio Etica y Teologia Desde Las Fronteras, Experiencias Fronterizas, Tijuana, Mexico, October 23, 2020.

Helena Marissa Montes-3

LatCrit Biennial Conference, Teaching Critical Legal Theory in Border Service Experiences in the US and Mexico, Atlanta,

Georgia, October 18

, 2019.

2019 Gang Prevention & Intervention Conference, Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Gang Databases and their Collateral

Consequences, Long Beach, California, May 14

, 2019.

American Association of Law School’s Clinical Conference, Gumming Up The Wheels of Injustice, San Francisco, California, May

, 2019.

Annual National Professors of Color Conference, Taking Back Our Narrative-A Clinical Approach, Washington DC, March

, 2019.

Guilty by Association II: Moving Beyond the Police Gang Narrative, Immigration Consequences of Gang Allegations, Los Angeles,

California, February 1

, 2019.

Mexican American Bar Association, But I’m an Immigrant Too: Addressing Latino-Attorney Biases in Serving the Immigrant

Community, Los Angeles, California, January 26

, 2019.

Western Law Professors of Color and CALPALF, Immigration Policy and The Role of The Courts, Las Vegas, Nevada, October 18

2018.

American Constitutional Society and The Mexican American Bar Association, Seeking Reunification: Separation of Immigrant

Children in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, August 1

, 2018.

Drexel University, Immigration Law Scholars and Teacher’s Workshop 2018, Responding to Urgency and Emergency Under The

Trump Administration, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 24

, 2018.

Ignatian Solidarity Network, Solidarity on Tap, Walking Together Toward a Just, Hospitable World, Los Angeles, California,

April 17

, 2018.

Universidad Centro Americana José Simeón Cañas, Seminario Regional De Migraciones Nuevas Formas De Habitar El Mundo:

Dignidad más allá de los Muros, De Niño al Pandillero: La Criminalización y Deportación de Migrantes en Los EEUU, San

Salvador, El Salvador, April 12th, 2018.

Latin American Refugee Fund, Voces Innocentes, San Miguel De Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico, March 3

, 2018.

XVI Encuentro Red Jesuita Con Migrantes Centro America Y Norte America, Un Modelo De Atención a Migrantes y Refugiados

en Estados Unidos, Mexico City, Mexico, October 10th, 2017.

The National LGBT Bar and Hispanic National Bar Association, “DACA and Our Communities: What You Need to Know,” Los

Angeles, California, September 21

, 2017.

The Hispanic National Bar Association, 42

Annual Convention, Stand Up, Fight Back! Advocating For Vulnerable Immigrant

Populations Through Community Lawyering Under a Trump Administration, Kansas City, Missouri, September 7

, 2017.

The Association of American Law School’s, 40

Annual Conference on Clinical Legal Education, Under Pressure: The Art of

Positivity and Reinvention in Turbulent Times, Denver, Colorado, May 6

, 2017.

The California Endowment, Global Homeboy Network, Legal Realness in Re-Entry: Lesson #1 Cross Cultural Competency, Los

Angeles, California, August 8

, 2016.

Los Angeles Trade Technical College, Mujeres Empowered for Success the 1

Annual Latina Conference in the New 9

, Panel

Discussion on Immigration, Los Angeles, California, May 14, 2016.

The Wellness Center-Los Angeles, Nuestrxs Voces: Voces de Equidad, Let’s talk about Health, Baby: Undocumented and

Uninsured, Los Angeles, California, February 27, 2016.

University of Southern California, USC Rossier School of Education: Jumpstart Children First, The Immigrant Experience in

Education, Los Angeles, California, February 20, 2016.

Human Rights First, Crisis of Counsel: Redoubling Efforts to Address Representation Gaps Facing Immigrants, Representation

and Vulnerable Population- Gaps and Opportunities, Los Angeles, California, September 12, 2014.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

2016 Emil Gumpert Award: Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic Fueled by Ganas, The American College of Trial Lawyer Journal,

(Spring 2017) (Published Speech).

Helena Marissa Montes-4

6 steps immigrants can take to prepare for the future, San Francisco Chronicle (January 26

, 2017)(Co-Author).

Law Would Shine A Light on Gang Lists, Los Angeles Daily Journal (May 31

, 2016) (Co-Author).

SELECTED MEDIA APPERANCES

The Reality of DACA and Immigration, The Stranger Fruit Podcast, (April 9

, 2023).

The Anti-Immigrant Epidemic in the US, The Stranger Fruit Podcast, (March 26

, 2023).

Biden’s Immigration Reform Bill Could Change Everything…Or Not Pass at All. Here’s What You Need to Know, LAist,

(February 20

, 2021.)

Biden and Democrats Take First Official Step Towards Immigration Reform, NPR/KPCC Take Two, (February 18

, 2021.)

Marissa Montes- Professor and Immigration Attorney, Ellas Podcast, (November 30

, 2019.)

Acuerdo migratorio fuerza al migrante a buscar asilo en Mexico en lugar de EU, Primera Emision de Enfoque Noticias, (July

14th, 2019.)

He grew up in West Africa. He never heard of MS-13. Then he fled to the US-and ICE accused him of being a gang member,

Yahoo News, (January 21

, 2019.)

The President Threatens Birthright Citizenship, KPCC-FM Take Two, (October 30

, 2018.)

Guest Appearance- Marissa Montes Vizcarra discussing activism in her community, El Aviso- El Show de Gustavo Vargas, (July

30th, 2018.)

Immigration Policy Update, KPFK/KPCC Travel Tips for Aztlan, (June 23

, 2018).

Fraught debate among Dreamers: Give Trump his wall?, The San Francisco Chronicle,(January 26

, 2018).

Amid Stalemate, ‘Dreamers’ put in applications and cross fingers, The San Francisco Chronicle, (January 21

,2018).

DACA recipients eager to act after ruling, but quick resolution unlikely, The San Francisco Chronicle, (January 10,2018).

Immigration Advocates Warn Undocumented Are “Fair Game” After Detention of Texas Child, The American Prospect

(November 2

, 2017).

‘Dreamers’ Seek DACA Extension, KNBC-TV, (September 16

, 2017).

Crean En Los Angeles un foro de ayuda a los dreamers, Telemundo-LA, (September 16th, 2017).

Law Clinic to Help DACA Recipients, KCAL-TV & KCBS-TV, (September 16

, 2017).

Programa De Accion Diferida Apoya Sonadores, Univision, (September 16th, 2017).

Thousands of ‘Dreamers’ face agonizing choices about their children, San Francisco Chronicle, (September 9

, 2017).

Reopening of Previously-Closed Deportation cases Has Dramatically Spiked In L.A. Since January, LAist (July 18

, 2017).

Sacaramento Report: Calgang Reforms Move Froward, But There’s Competition, Voice of San Diego (April 21, 2017).

Could All Undocumented Immigrant Be Deported?, Telemundo (February 22

, 2017).

California Could Become a Sanctuary State. Here’s What You Need to Know, Desert Sun (February 10

, 2017).

Garcetti Announces $10 Million Legal Defense Fund For Immigrants Facing Deportation In Trump’s America, LAist (December

,2016).

Inmigrantes Se Apresuran A Naturalizarse Tras Victoria De Trump, CNN en Español (December 10th , 2016).

As an incoming president promises deportation, Los Angeles officials promise resistance, America Magazine (November 18

2016).

Helena Marissa Montes-5

Students and Faculty Rally to Designate USC As a ‘Sanctuary’ Campus, LAist (November 16

, 2016).

Here’s What You Need To Know If You Are Undocumented in L.A., LAist (November 14

, 2016).

Trump’s victory jolts Bay Area minority communities, San Francisco Chronicle (November 12

, 2016).

California and Trump are on a collision course over immigrants here illegally, Los Angeles Times (November 11

, 2016).

U.S. citizenship applications rising amid fears of Trump, San Francsico Chronicle (September 30

, 2016).

Finally, former gangsters have a chance to set the record straight, KPCC (October 3

, 2016).

Deadlocked Supreme Court Fails to Revive Obama’s Immigration Plan, Morning Edition on National Public Radio (June 24

2016).

‘Este proceso es difícil, pero también hay sanación, dice víctima de violencia doméstica, La Opinion (June 17

,2016).

Immigrant Clinic Looks to Clear Confusion to Undocumented Community, NBC4 News (February 19

, 2015).

LEGISLATIVE TESTIMONY

Expert Testimony, California State Senate Public Safety Committee, Sacramento, CA (April 2017).

ADMISSIONS: State Bar of California

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Language: fluent Spanish