Staff

Hannah Lehker (she/her) works in the Kalamazoo office as MIRC's Program Administrator, and is a queer, fat, white femme. Hannah started at MIRC as an intern working with migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, before becoming a Legal Assistant for the Unaccompanied Children's Program. These varied roles provided Hannah with insight into many aspects of work at MIRC, preparing her for her current position as a program-wide administrator. Hannah graduated from Kalamazoo College in 2017, with a degree in Spanish and Anthropology/Sociology. She spent six months studying in Valparaíso, Chile, and speaks Spanish. Outside of work hours you are most likely to find Hannah at the beach.

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.

Lauren joined MIRC in January of 2022, and is a Supervising Program Coordinator for the Unaccompanied Children’s Team in Grand Rapids, MI. She recently graduated from Western Michigan University with a double major in Spanish and Political Science. She first worked at MIRC as an intern in 2018, before studying abroad for the following year in Cuba and New Zealand. Lauren is passionate about immigrant rights, and working to support immigrants in her community. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and skydiving. She is proficient in Spanish.

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.

Mayra Garcia is a Legal Assistant based in our Washtenaw office. She recently graduated from Eastern Michigan University with her B.A. in Business Administration and a minor in Communications. Mayra grew up in Southwest Detroit and was raised by immigrant parents who immigrated from Mexico. Her parents experience has encouraged her to learn more about immigration law. Mayra is fluent in Spanish.

Mel Moeinvaziri is the Detroit Front Door staff attorney with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. She specializes in asylum, deportation defense, and detained cases. Prior to joining MIRC, Mel spent several years in private immigration practice and taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Utah College of Law. In her teaching role, she accompanied law students to the border to assist detained immigrants. Mel earned her J.D. from the University of Utah College of Law and her master’s degree in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies from the University of Oxford, Oxford England. Mel was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. When she is not jumping out of airplanes or scaling rock cliffs, Mel dedicates time to advocating with and for the immigrant and refugee community.

Mohamed Slim is a Law Graduate with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center’s Unaccompanied Children’s team. Mohamed studied Psychology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and earned his law degree from The University of Toledo College of Law. Mohamed comes from a family of immigrants. This led to his pursuit of immigration law in order to help those searching for a better life overcome the hardships that are associated with immigration.