LWVTC hosts our Hot Topic Luncheons to educate our members and the public about timely issues. Join us to hear directly from experienced immigration experts about one of the most complex and consequential policy issues in Texas and across the United States. Panelists will bring valuable insights on the state of immigration law, detention, and what’s happening on the ground in our community. Attendees will leave better informed, better equipped to engage in thoughtful discussion, and more prepared to advocate for fair, humane, and effective immigration policies.
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Speakers include:
Zainab Khan serves as the Managing Attorney for the Immigration Detention Project that is funded by Dallas Area Interfaith and housed in the Immigrant Rights Clinic at Texas A&M University School of Law. The Immigration Detention Project helps eligible detainees seek release form immigration detention, whether through bond hearings in immigration court or habeas petitions in federal court. Prior to joining Texas A&M Law, Ms. Khan was a federal public defender, first in the Southern District of California, and most recently in the Northern District of Texas. Before that, she was a fellow at the Muslim Legal Fund of America, where she worked on criminal cases and civil rights cases affecting Muslim Americans. Ms. Khan is a graduate of the Southern Methodist University School of Law and the University of Texas at Dallas.
Jordan Pollock is currently the Specialized Unit Chief at the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office, supervising the Appellate, Actual Innocence, Capital Punishment and Immigration units. Before taking on this role, Ms. Pollock was an Immigration Specialist and Supervisor of the Immigration Unit of the Dallas Public Defender’s office, where she has worked since 2014. Among other duties, Ms. Pollock advises both public defenders and appointed attorneys of the immigration consequences of the criminal charges against non-citizen clients. Ms. Pollock also serves as an adjunct professor at Texas A&M Law School, where she teaches a course in “crimmigration,” and is vice chair of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer’s immigration committee. Previously, Ms. Pollock was an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Public Counsel in Los Angeles, where she instituted a Legal Orientation Program at two Orange County detention centers and represented detained immigrants in removal proceedings. She received her J.D. with honors from the University of Texas School of Law and her B.A. with honors from Duke University. Before law school, Ms. Pollock was an accredited representative at the New York Legal Assistance Group, where she represented clients in affirmative immigration matters.
Emily Heger serves as the Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic at Texas A&M University School of Law, where she leads the clinic's direct representation and impact litigation on behalf of immigrants seeking humanitarian protection. Prior to joining Texas A&M Law, Heger served as the Pro Bono Immigration Attorney at Akin, where she managed the immigration docket within their award-winning pro bono practice. Previously, as an Equal Justice Works Fellow hosted by Human Rights Initiative of North Texas, she launched a pioneering project to secure asylum for survivors of gender-based persecution and helped shape national amicus efforts before the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Fifth Circuit. Heger was introduced to immigrant communities and their legal needs through her earlier career in nonprofit and social enterprise leadership, where she focused on creating economic opportunities for marginalized women worldwide.
League member and immigration attorney,
Mary Beth Garcia, will facilitate the discussion.
Join us in the La Villa Room at Joe T. Garcia's restaurant. Lunch is included with your ticket! Program begins at 11:45. Check in begins at 11:15. Tickets are $40 for LWVTC members, $50 for nonmembers.
Register Today!