Staff

Polina Hristova is a Supervising Attorney with Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, where she is a part of MIRC’s unaccompanied children’s team. Polina received her B.A. from University of Michigan, where she was a part of the Undocumented Migration Project, a long-term anthropological study aimed at humanizing the migrant experience and raising awareness about the harsh reality of migrating north from Central America and Mexico. In May 2020, Polina received her J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law. During law school, Polina served as a student clinician for the Michigan State University Immigration Law Clinic, where she represented clients in a variety of immigration matters. Polina is originally from Sofia, Bulgaria and moved to Michigan with her family in 1998.

Sadia Ghazi is a staff attorney at Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, specifically working on the Unaccompanied Children’s Program. Sadia has experience working with children of all ages. Her experiences include teaching a semester at Hamtramck High School and East English Village High School, working with children with autism as a behavioral technician, and volunteering at a youth summer camp in Southwest Detroit. Sadia received her bachelor’s degree and her J.D. from Wayne State University. During law school, Sadia was a student attorney at the Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic, and Crime Victims Legal Assistance Project. After graduating law school, Sadia worked as a judicial advisory assistant in 7th Circuit Court of Genesee County.

Sestina Real joined MIRC’s Unaccompanied Children’s Program as a Staff Attorney in March of 2022. Ses is a first generation college student and law student who is determined to dismantle existing structural inequities by any means necessary. Prior to receiving her JD from Michigan State University College of Law, Ses obtained a dual degree in Womxn Studies and African American Studies from the University of Georgia. Ses has committed her life to fighting for social justice through public interest, movement lawyering, community organizing, and various other means. She has been a grassroots organizer and activist for the last 10 years. She aims to be an effective part of building lasting and impactful mutual aid networks and coalitions within Black Liberation, Immigrant Rights, Queer Rights, Civil Rights/Liberties, and other social justice organizations and movements on a nationwide scale. Ses has interned with MIRC, and used her time at MSU’s College of Law to actively promote diversity and inclusion by taking on positions on the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, and the Multicultural Executive Council. After graduating, Ses established the “Empowerment Scholarship” award at MSU College of Law, dedicated to helping 3L’s from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds cover the expenses related to the bar exam.

Sokainah Mahmutovic is a member of the Crime Victims Legal Assistance Project team in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her focus is on immigration relief available to victims of domestic violence and crime. Sokainah graduated from Grand Valley State University with a degree in International Relations, concentrating on Middle Eastern Studies, and a minor in Political Science. She is a graduate from Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School where she received her Juris Doctor degree. While attending law school, Sokainah interned for MIRC’s Grand Rapids office which allowed her to advance her knowledge and expand her interest in immigration law. She is a passionate world traveler and has a strong devotion to human rights and social justice. Sokainah is fluent in Arabic.

Susan E. Reed is an Attorney/Director with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. Susan is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and Marquette University. Susan has practiced immigration and immigrant rights law since 2003. Susan has also served as a staff attorney at Farmworker Legal Services of Michigan and as a regional attorney for Justice for Our Neighbors, the immigration legal services program of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Her particular interests include the intersection of family and immigration law, the rights of unaccompanied immigrant children, immigrant eligibility for public benefits and programs, and civil rights. In 2013, Susan was appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court to the Foreign Language Board of Review as the LEP Populations Advocate and served two terms. She also served as a committee member of the Court's Limited English Proficiency Implementation Advisory Committee. Susan is passionate about immigrant access to driver's licenses and identification and is the Michigan Department of State Liaison for the Michigan Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers' Association. Susan is a proud member of the first class of W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Network Fellows.

Tania is the Supervising Attorney for the Unaccompanied Children's team. She has a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies with a concentration in Latin American studies from the University of South Alabama. She also pursued her Master's degree in Political and Social Sciences at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM).

In 2017, she earned her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. As a student, she worked with the Human Trafficking Clinic, Unemployment Insurance Clinic and Community and Economic Development Clinic. She was a Geneva Extern Scholar at the International Services for Human Rights. Upon graduation she worked in the area of business immigration at ACA and later joined MIRC in 2018 as part of the Detroit Front Door Project focusing on removal defense and later the Immigration Court Helpdesk. She most recently worked at LGL focusing on family immigration and consular processing before returning to MIRC.

She grew up with a fascination for justice and the rule of law due to her father’s work as a social scientist. Her mother’s status as an immigrant motivated her to work in the field of immigration. She is bilingual and a dual citizen of Mexico and the U.S. She loves anime (Shingeki no Kyojin), video games (Borderlands), tacos (al pastor), and her dog (Marla).

Tony is the son of 2 formerly undocumented immigrants from Gomez Palacio, DGO, Mexico. He is a first generation American. He has always wanted to be a lawyer, but growing up with undocumented parents, he became very passionate about immigration law in particular and decided to become an immigration lawyer. Tony received his J.D. from Ohio Northern University and his Bachelors in Legal Studies from Davenport University. During undergrad he was a paralegal/legal assistant for 3 years at various immigration law firms. During law school Tony was a summer associate at Barnes & Thornburg, DOJ's Office of Immigration Litigation-Appellate Division, and various immigration firms. He was also a Staff Editor on his school's law review.