Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project
Marseil E. Somi serves as a Staff Attorney at the Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project since March 2020, providing legal support and advocacy for immigrant rights. Previously, Marseil held the position of Associate Attorney at the Law Office of Judith L. Wood from April 2017 to June 2018. Marseil began gaining legal experience as an Immigration Law Clinic Student Practitioner at the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice from August 2012 to May 2013, where representation of non-citizens in legal matters was under the supervision of Clinician Hiroko Kusuda. Marseil earned a Doctor of Law (JD) from Loyola College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science and Government from UCLA.
Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project
Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, a program of Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, Inc., is a non-profit law firm which provides community education and legal representation to Southern California’s most vulnerable immigrant communities. Esperanza provides legal representation to immigrants who are in detention and/or removal proceedings, and focuses on particularly complex immigration cases which may involve unaccompanied minors, adults with mental health issues, and cases with past criminal or gang history. Esperanza also provides community education programming and pro se assistance to immigrants in removal proceedings both in detained and non-detained settings. Esperanza has proudly provided legal services to immigrants and their families in Los Angeles for over 15 years.