Staff

Gladys is a legal assistant for the Unaccompanied Minors Team in Ypsilanti. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan with an Honors degree in History. She specializes in early 20th-Century American history with a focus on the Constitution, the impact of nationalism, and social justice. She also enjoys art and music. Gladys was born in South Haven, MI to immigrant parents and has since developed a strong sense of justice and protectiveness toward the immigrant community. Her goal is to become an attorney and continue to assist the community through public policy, litigation, and overall human compassion. Gladys is fluent in Spanish.

Grace Erway is a Paralegal on the Afghan Arrivals Team in Kalamazoo. Originally from Kalamazoo, she recently graduated with her Bachelor's Degree in Anthropology/Sociology from Kalamazoo College and is a proud beneficiary of the Kalamazoo Promise scholarship. In her time at Kalamazoo College she was able to study abroad in Costa Rica and write a research based undergrad thesis, on the history of white supremacy and its presence in migrant related law. In her free time she enjoys traveling, spending time with her family, singing and bartending.

Hannah is originally from Nanping, China, but grew up in Iowa.  She received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Iowa.  In May of 2022, Hannah received her J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law with a certificate in Child & Family Advocacy.  During her time in law school, she primarily focused her studies on family and child welfare law. Hannah served as a student clinician and as an intake coordinator for MSU's Chance at Childhood Clinic, where she advocated for children involved in the court system in a variety of different cases.

Jaimie Lerner is an attorney with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. She works on the Detroit Front Door Team, handling a wide-range of cases before the Immigration Court, State Court, Federal Court, and federal agencies. Prior to joining MIRC in 2021, she served as an Attorney Advisor at the Detroit Immigration Court and as a Judicial Law Clerk for the New York Immigration Court, part of the Executive Office for Immigration Review. She received her J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Michigan. During law school, Jaimie served as a legal intern with the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice in Washington D.C., as well as a student clinician with the Immigration Justice Clinic and Human Rights and Atrocity Prevention Clinic for Cardozo in New York. As a law student, she was an Assistant Coach and prior competitor for the Cardozo Moot Court Team at the University of Oxford Media Law Competition in Oxford, England, examining international law and freedom of expression concerns.

Joan Smith is the Legal Assistant to the Immigration Court Helpdesk program. She is based out of the Ypsilanti office, but primarily works at Immigration Court. Prior to MIRC, Joan taught ELL and GED classes to adults in Southwest Detroit. She also spent a year living and working at a migrant shelter in Guatemala, near the Mexican border. She loves language and language learning, and is near fluent in Spanish. She graduated from Loyola University of Chicago with Bachelor's degrees in Anthropology and French, and has a Master’s degree in Communication from Oakland University. She is committed to dismantling our violent immigration system.

Juliana Hafner is a Supervising Program Coordinator on the UC Team in Kalamazoo. Originally from Colombia, she has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from La Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá. Juliana has worked in the non-profit sector since 2016, first supporting the implementation of The Restorative Justice Approach in a juvenile detention facility in Colombia, later on providing preventional information about sexual abuse to preschools in low-income areas of Bogotá. Before her current role as a Legal Assistant, Juliana was the Director of Family and Youth Programs at El Concilio Kalamazoo.

Kelsey is a Staff Attorney at the Michigan Immigrant Right Center’s Kalamazoo office. She is originally from Chicago and moved to Michigan in 2013. Kelsey started with MIRC as an intern while completing her bachelor’s degree in Spanish and psychology at Western Michigan University. In 2020, she received her J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law.

Lexi Andre joined MIRC’s Unaccompanied Children’s Program as a Staff Attorney in May 2021. She received her J.D. from University of Michigan Law School where she served as a student attorney with the Human Trafficking Clinic and the Criminal Appellate Practice Clinic. She also interned for the Law Reform and Development Commission of Namibia, International Service for Human Rights, and the Family Law Project. Lexi also attended University of Michigan for her undergraduate degree in Classical Languages and Literatures with a minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies.

Lisset is a legal assistant for our Unaccompanied Children’s Program in the Ypsilanti Office. Originally from Mexico City, Mexico, she is a compassionate youth’s advocate and parent educator with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Lisset has facilitated individual and group workshops to educate caregivers on child development and cultivating positive, respectful and intentional parent-child relationships. As part of her role, she is committed to promote culturally-sensitive trauma-informed practices and its application for the care of immigrant and refugee youth and their families.

Magid Shaibi is a Law Graduate with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center’s Unaccompanied Children’s team in Ypsilanti. Magid studied Criminal Justice at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and earned his law degree from The University of Toledo College of Law.

Mariana Santos is a Paralegal for Unaccompanied Refugee Minors on the Unaccompanied Children Team in Grand Rapids. She recently graduated from Aquinas College with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and a minor in legal studies. Mariana was born in the Grand Rapids, but was brought up in the Wyoming area. Mariana has always had a passion for immigrant rights and social justice issues. She has been dedicated to helping out the community by interning at Immigrant Connection at City Life Church in GR and served as a Diversity Assistant during her time at Aquinas. Her goal is to eventually become an immigration attorney herself. Mariana is also a Department of Justice (DOJ) Accredited Representative.