I grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee. I left home and moved to Massachusetts, alone, at 16 so I could start college early. I attended Simon’s Rock College, got a master’s degree at what is now the University of New Hampshire Law School, and then went to Suffolk University for law school. When I finished law school, I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world but didn’t know how yet. A friend who was obsessed with immigration law asked me to work on some cases with her, and it opened my eyes.

Growing up, all the way through law school, I had heard about all the injustices in the criminal “justice” system and knew that was something I was interested in. But immigration is 100x more unfair, and the government keeps that a secret. In immigration court, you don’t have most of the rights you’d have in a real court.