Staff

Alma Acevedo is a UC SupervsingProgram Coordinator based out of the Kalamazoo office. She completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology, Spanish, and Global and International Studies at Western Michigan University. Alma is originally from Jalisco, Mexico, and moved to the U.S. when she was 2 years old. She is fluent in Spanish.

Amanda joined the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center as a Staff Attorney in May 2021. She currently works on the unaccompanied children’s team in the Ypsilanti office. Prior to joining MIRC, Amanda interned and externed at Legal Services of South Central Michigan. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University for Political Science-Pre law, and her Juris Doctorate from Michigan State University College of Law. Amanda is originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil and moved to Michigan with her family in 1999.

Ana Raquel Devereaux has been an attorney with Michigan Immigrant Rights Center since December of 2014. She began her work with MIRC representing unaccompanied children seeking asylum, SIJS, and T- visas. Ana Raquel has also represented victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Ana Raquel now supervises MIRC's unaccompanied children's team, which includes attorneys and non-attorneys accros MIRC's three offices representing children in federal foster care and released to sponsors. Ana Raquel is a fluent Spanish speaker and she attended Calvin College for her undergraduate degree in International Relations with a minor in Latin American Studies and received her J.D. from Wayne State University.

Anna joined the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center as a staff attorney in 2013 and currently serves on MIRC's farmworker and immigrant worker litigation team and advocacy team. She began her time at MIRC focused on impact litigation and policy advocacy for a broad range of immigrant rights issues, including federal litigation to ensure immigrant access to public benefits and programs. She has also representing clients in seeking U-visas, naturalization, asylum, and in removal proceedings after workplace raids. Anna graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and the University of California, Berkeley. She grew up in California where she worked at Head Start and for the USDA Agrability program, prior to law school. She is fluent in Spanish.

Brad Maurer joined the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center's Unaccompanied Children's Program as a staff attorney in July 2021. Before coming to MIRC, Brad worked with New York County Defender Services, a public defender office in downtown Manhattan, for eight years. In his time as a public defender, Brad represented indigent clients as a trial attorney in a wide range of criminal cases. Brad also served as NYCDS's DNA & Forensics Specialist, advising other attorneys regarding the forensic evidence in their cases as well as advocating and publishing with respect to broader legal and policy issues in the forensics arena. Brad received a B.S. in Neuroscience from Lafayette College, a Master's degree in Science Writing from Johns Hopkins University, and a J.D. from New York University.

Catherine focuses on immigration relief available to victims of domestic violence and crime. She graduated with a full scholarship from the University of Toledo College of Law and completed her undergraduate degree at Western Michigan University. She has 5 years experience as a paralegal and speaks English, Spanish and Korean. Before her legal career, she operated her own business in Chicago, Illinois and also worked for Samsung Electronics in Seoul, South Korea. She currently works in the Kalamazoo office and is available to assist with cases involving victims of crime and domestic violence. In her free time, she enjoys trail running and has completed several ultramarathons.

Clarissa is the staff attorney responsible for coordinating the pro bono effort to support Afghan refugees arriving in Michigan. Prior to joining MIRC's Ypsilanti office in 2021 as an attorney for children in short term foster care, Clarissa worked as an Attorney Advisor at the Department of Justice, clerking for the Immigration Judges at the Detroit Immigration Court. She also worked for the Department of Health and Human Services to provide residential care to unaccompanied children entering the United States. Clarissa graduated from Michigan State University College of Law in 2018. While studying at MSU Law, she worked as a student attorney at Farmworker Legal Services and the University of Michigan Human Trafficking Clinic. Clarissa speaks Spanish and is dedicated to improving access to justice in Michigan.

Debora Cunha is a Legal Assistant at our Ypsilanti Office, focused on the Unaccompanied Minors Program . As an immigrant herself, Debora arrived as a minor in the United States from Brazil and is happy to assist unaccompanied minors through her own experiences. She is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish and is pursuing a major in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolutions. Her hobbies include kickboxing and scuba diving.

Deddi joined the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center in January 2022. She is a bilingual legal assistant working specifically with farm and agricultural workers. Deddi was born in Puerto Rico and is a native Spanish speaker. She resided in Boston before moving to Michigan in 2005. Deddi worked many years as a medical assistant providing interpreting services for the Latinx community at various Michigan community organizations and mental health foundations. She transitioned to legal assistant during the pandemic working alongside a private practice immigration attorney. Deddi enjoys working with the public and helping her immigrant worker rights team. She is dedicated to advocating for immigrant rights, and racial equity.

Elinor Jordan is a Supervising Attorney in the Unaccompanied Children program, where she focuses on systemic advocacy within Emergency Intake Sites. Immediately before joining MIRC, Elly founded the Survivor Law Clinic at the Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, where she engaged in novel legal representation to enforce crime victim rights for survivors. She also served on the Michigan Supreme Court's Justice for All Commission in order to further access to legal services across the state. Earlier in her legal career, Elly taught and litigated cases on behalf of unaccompanied immigrant children as a Supervising Attorney with Michigan State University’s Immigration Law Clinic. While at Michigan State University College of Law ('11), Elly was the editor-in-chief of the Michigan State Law Review. Upon graduation, she served as a clerk for the Honorable David W. McKeague of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and later as an associate with firm Warner Norcross & Judd. Elly has published in multiple law reviews and journals on topics related to access-to-justice, immigration, and intimate partner violence. Before becoming a lawyer, Elly worked in El Salvador and Washington, DC on human rights and gender equity issues.

Erika is originally from Chihuahua, Mexico. She volunteered for Michigan United providing support to the undocumented community regarding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Citizenship. Also volunteered during the COVID pandemic to spread reliable information, in English and Spanish, about the virus and vaccines available, as well as providing information about programs and supports available for unlawful families in need. She is passionate about helping and supporting immigrant people, especially children, through Michigan Immigrant Right Center. She has a Law Degree in Mexico and is fluent in Spanish.