Marissa Montes - Professor, Immigration Attorney, Activist & Co-Director of Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Immigrant Justice Clinic

SHOW NOTES

Immigration has and will always be an important topic in the United States and the world.

On today’s episode of Ellas, Brenda Hernández Jaimes sits down with Marissa Montes, a proud Latina professor, immigration attorney, and activist to talk about the challenges and process of immigration. Marissa is also the current Co-Director of Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Immigrant Justice Clinic.

To talk about this topic, one has to be well informed and Marissa is the best attorney and mujer for this episode.

Marissa shares how her childhood and early teen years motivated her to help her community through immigration attorney, her years studying at USC, and the rude awakening she received when studying grad school at Loyola University.

She also talks about the challenges she has faced during her professional career, the biggest wins, and ways to combat imposter syndrome.

We go deep about the current immigration climate in the country and Mexico-Guatemala border.

If you’re planning on starting your path in immigration law or you work in the industry, then listen to this episode to find out vital tips and advice so you can be the best guide to our comunidad.

In this episode we talk about...

2:34 - Discover the backstory of how Marissa Montes and Brenda Hernández Jaimes connected for Ellas

5:15 - Marissa shares how she’s been able to help her Latino community through immigration law

6:13 - Listen to how Marissa’s childhood motivated her to study immigration law

9:09 - Find out how Marissa’s mentors guided her through her college application

11:43 - Marissa talks about how she was able to find her community while studying at USC

14:13 - Do you want to study law? Marissa shares the obstacles that you will face when choosing this important path

17:40 - If you want to study law, listen to the requirements you need to have

20:40 - “It’s what you make it. Like in any career, it’s your work ethic and your reputation that’s going to follow you more than what grade you got in a class, what top twenty law schools you went to and if you were in law review.”

23:24 - Discover how Marissa and her classmates co-founded the Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic

26:15 - Marissa shares how the clinic had to build trust in the community and the work they’re planning to do

28:36 - Listen to the work that Loyola Law students do through the Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic

31:20 - Marissa talks about the biggest wins during her immigration law career

34:34 - Are you an immigration lawyer or want to help our migrants? Marissa shares advice on what you can do

37:40 - Put your money where your mouth is and donate to Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic to help law students guide our migrants

39:27 - Marissa speaks about the Mexican-Guatemala border and human smuggling

42:56 - Listen to Marissa share about the work she did while the caravan was at the border

45:48 - Immigration is constantly changing in the US and international law, find out what those are!

48:27 - Marissa shares advice to our Latina listeners who want to be attorneys

51:55 - Listen to how Marissa deals with imposter syndrome and the things she does to push that aside

53:11 - You also need to speak Spanish if you want to be an immigration attorney

55:53 - Are you looking for a mentor in the law industry? Marissa shares vital tips to have a mentor

58:01 - Is networking scary? Listen to Marissa’s advice on how to use it for your advantage

59:46 - Marissa shares the work she does at Calgang Database Technical Advisory Committee

1:02:54 - Discover what Marissa will be doing in the Los Angeles City Commission on Civil and Human Rights

1:04:35 - Marissa is often the only women of color in the workspace

1:07:25 - Listen to Marissa’s vital and necessary self-care tips

1:10:36 - “I wish that as Latinas or women of color we didn’t have to do double the work to show our worth and value. I wish one day, we have that equal footing.”

1:12:42 - Marissa shares tips on how to debunk the common myths surrounding immigration

1:15:48 - Are you starting your first year of law school or in your first year of being an attorney? Listen to Marissa’s words of advice

1:18:04 - “You’re going to make it and you’re going to be successful.”

1:18:55 - Follow Marissa!

RELEVANT LINKS

Marissa Montes

Loyola Law School

Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic