In the 1970s and 1980s we helped political refugees seek asylum in the U.S, with an emphasis on asylum-seekers from Central America. At the same time, we worked with grassroots groups to expose violence against immigrant women and children at the U.S. border.

In the 1990s we worked with several other groups to challenge the government's use of secret evidence against noncitizens, and expanded our support for immigrant survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault by forming a national advocacy coalition. We also began to draw attention to the plight of HIV positive noncitizens, and campaigned to end draconian travel restrictions on HIV positive noncitizens and visitors to the U.S.

Today, we are one of the few national-level, legal support groups that specializes in defending the rights of immigrants facing incarceration and deportation.

Senior Legal Staff

Dan Kesselbrenner, Executive Director
Program Areas: Immigration consequences of criminal convictions, Deportation/Detention, Post-9/11 issues
Phone: 617-227-9727 ext. 2
E-mail Dan
 

Dan Kesselbrenner is the Executive Director of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, the co-author of Immigration Law and Crimes, a Clinical Visiting Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School, and a nationally recognized expert on the immigration consequences of criminal convictions and suppression of evidence in immigration proceedings. In 1992, he served on the Clinton-Gore Department of Justice Immigrant Transition Team. He has also received the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Jack Wasserman Award, the National Immigration Project’s Carol King Award, and Central American Refugee Center’s Achievement Award for his work advancing and defending immigrants’ rights.

Paromita Shah, Associate Director
Program Areas: Detention & Deportation, Raids Response, Gangs & Immigration
Phone: 617-227-9727 ext. 1
E-mail Paromita

Paromita joined our staff in May 2005. Prior to her current post she was the Detention Project Director of Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition in Washington, DC from April 2003 to May 2005. Under this project she conducted monthly legal rights presentations in regional county jails in Virginia for immigrants detained by DHS. In addition to providing legal services to those individuals, Paromita mentored and trained attorneys for direct representation, assessed and analyzed claims for relief requested by detainees, coordinated local advocacy efforts, and participated in liaison meetings with DHS and DOJ. From December 1998 through October 2002, she previously worked as a staff attorney in the Immigration Unit at Greater Boston Legal Services.

Trina Realmuto, Staff Attorney

Program Areas: Litigation Strategy, Reinstatement of Removal, Government Accountability

Phone: 617-227-9727 ext. 8

Email Trina

Prior to joining the Project in November 2009, Trina Realmuto was an attorney consultant to the Legal Action Center of the American Immigration Counsel.  In this role, she mentored attorneys litigating immigration cases and wrote numerous amicus briefs and practice advisories on various topics, including reinstatement of removal, retroactivity, and federal court procedure and jurisdiction.  From 1997 to 2001, Trina worked as an associate at the law firm of Van Der Hout, Brigagliano & Nightingale in San Francisco, where she focused on removal defense and federal court litigation. 

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Legal Workers and Administrative Staff

Ellen Kemp, Director of Legal Advocacy
Program Areas: VAWA/gender violence issues, U nonimmigrant visa interim relief, HIV/AIDS and immigrants, seminars and legal education
Phone: 617-227-9727 ext. 4
E-mail Ellen

Rosa Douglas, Office Manager

Phone: 617-227-9727 ext. 3

E-mail Rosa

Ana Manigat, Administrative Assistant
Phone: 617-227-9727 ext. 7
E-mail Ana

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Fellows and Interns

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