Our fellow, a current third year law student at the University of San Francisco School of Law, spent the summer with the Detained Immigrant Advocates (DIA) team at NWIRP. She had the privilege of being mentored by one of Valerie's closest friends from when Valerie started her own legal career at NWIRP. Throughout the summer, Dalia fought for the liberation and safety of a detained community member who has spent nearly 7 years away from their loved ones. She appeared in two merits hearings for this client. In September 2024, the fellow and her supervisor secured deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture for this client, who otherwise would have been deported to imminent death.

Her time at NWIRP, as she describes it, was “transformational” in her development as an immigrants’ rights advocate. With over five years in the immigrants’ rights space, collaborating on this case is something she will never forget, and as she reports, “it was the toughest case I’ve ever done, but it forced me to grow and dig in deep—it made me have to channel Valerie’s relentlessly fierce advocacy.”

Physically meeting with clients in detention and collaborating with them on their cases has affirmed her commitment to detention work. She expresses endless gratitude for the mentorship she received at NWIRP and looks forward to what comes next!