Staff

Katerin “Kat” Solorzano was born and raised in Guatemala, and she and her family immigrated to the US in 2005. Kat is a DACA recipient which allowed her to earn her Paralegal Studies Certificate from MCC, and she has actively practiced alongside multiple Metro-Detroit Immigration Attorneys for the past 7 years, specifically within the family based-sector. She is fluent in Spanish and English, has two cats and is a documentary fanatic.

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.

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.

Lizzette joined the Michigan Immigrants Rights Center in January 2020 as a bilingual legal assistant working specifically with unaccompanied children in Long Term Foster Care, and is now a Supervising Program Coordinator on the same team. Lizzette is a California native, born and raised in Los Angeles, who’s parents immigrated from Mexico and El Salvador. She is dedicated to advocating for immigrant rights, and mental health. Lizzette worked many years providing interpretation services for the Latinx community in Michigan courts and it’s partnering agencies like the Children’s Assessment Center. She is state certified as a Judicial Interpreter for the Spanish language and recently became certified in Mental Health First Aid.

Luz Solis is a Paralegal at MIRC. Luz began working in Immigration Law in 2021. She has a passion for helping immigrants in our community obtain their legal status in our country. What drew Luz to work at MIRC is our reputation for providing exceptional legal services to people in need.

Maria Garcia is an Intake Coordinator with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center as part of the Washtenaw, Intake, Kalamazoo, Detroit Front Door (WIKD) team. She was born and raised in Southwest Detroit. Maria recently received her B.A. from the University of Michigan, where she studied Political Science and Latina/o Studies, as well as double minoring in Asian Studies and Gender, Race, & Nation. Maria has a passion for immigrant rights and social justice issues and her goal is to one day become an immigration attorney.

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.

Marie Rodriguez was born and raised in Brownsville, Tx. She came to Michigan at the age of 8 when her mother became a migrant worker looking for a better future for her daughters.  A few years later, her mother decided to make Michigan her second home. Marie graduated from Hartford High School and attended KVCC and WMU. Marie graduated with her BA from WMU in Criminal Justice and a minor in substance abuse. Marie is first generation college graduate and is very proud of her accomplishments.

Marie has many years working in social work and non-profits organizations. She started her career with DHHS in child welfare. Her passion began to grow when she worked with YWCA of Kalamazoo. Marie has found her passion in advocating for vulnerable populations, being the voice for those who are voiceless. She has worked with Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo advocating for students and their family needs

Megan Kraus is a staff attorney for MIRC’s unaccompanied children program. Megan first became interested in Immigration Law through her experience as an exchange student to Slovakia in high school and as a mentor to incoming exchange students in the following years. In May 2022, Megan received her J.D. From Michigan State University College of Law. During law school, Megan served as a student clinician for the Michigan State University Immigration Law Clinic, where she represented clients in various immigration matters.

Mercedes Watts is a Supervising Attorney with the Michigan Immigration Rights Center’s Grand Rapids Office. Mercedes received her B.S. in Political Science from Grand Valley State University and her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law. Mercedes is an accomplished attorney and certified civil mediator with 6+ years of experience representing clients in family law, civil law, and criminal defense matters. She is adept at handling complex caseloads, including conducting trials, negotiating settlements, and advocating for clients. Throughout her entire legal career Mercedes has strived to help the underprivileged, underserved, unrepresented and everyone in-between.

 Moisés (they/he/elle/el) is the policy, community engagement, and communications associate for the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. They are a Venezuelan immigrant who studied Public & Nonprofit Administration alongside event management at Central Michigan University. Concurrent with their education, Moisés was able to develop their understanding of the nonprofit sector by earning the Certified Nonprofit Credential (CNP) from the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance. Prior to joining MIRC, Moisés served two summers as an intern at the Michigan College Access Network where they helped to develop the Michigan ECHO scholarship and assisted with the Highschool Innovation program as well as strategic engagement. Moisés is committed to leveraging their passion and experiences to play a key role in MIRC's system-wide impact.