Immigrant Defense Advocates (IDA) was formed in the midst of an immigration crisis — illustrated by restrictive border legislation, aggressive enforcement and deportation policies, lack of adequate legal representation, and destructive separation of families.
It is incumbent upon advocates to work hand in hand with the immigrant community to develop a comprehensive strategy to these attacks; one that does not simply react to each crisis as it emerges, but one that synthesizes community organizing with legal services, advocacy with policy, and above all focuses on empowerment over panic.
Mission Statement: IDA is dedicated to promoting transparency, accountability, and the protection of human rights within the immigration system. We work alongside legal service providers and regional stakeholders to advocate for systemic reforms that prioritize human rights.
Jackie Gonzalez, Co-Executive Director
Jackie Gonzalez is the Co-Executive Director for Immigrant Defense Advocates. She most recently served as Special Assistant Attorney General on immigration matters for California’s AG Rob Bonta. Prior to co-founding IDA, she served as policy director for the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice (CCIJ). During her tenure, she designed and successfully advocated for the establishment of the California Immigrant Justice Fellowship, the first state sponsored program to expand access to counsel in the most underserved regions of the state and defend California’s residents against family separation. She has served as a consistent advocate for the expansion of funding for immigrant legal services in California, and has led initiatives and sponsored legislation to improve oversight and public health in private immigrant detention facilities.
Jackie began her career as a direct legal services attorney. She represented immigrant youth at Legal Services for Children, worked as a Deportation Defense Fellow at Van Der Hout, Brigagliano & Nightingale LLP, and played an instrumental role in building removal defense expertise and capacity at various Bay Area organizations including Centro Legal de la Raza and Dolores Street Community Services. Jackie served as the lead attorney for the San Francisco Immigrant Legal and Education Network (SFILEN), a network of thirteen organizations serving low-income immigrants. In the wake of the first Trump administration, she helped spearhead the formation of the Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership (ACILEP), a network that provides legal and support services to Alameda County families.
Jackie received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. As the daughter of immigrants, Jackie believes that solutions should come from those directly impacted by an issue and that sound policymaking must be informed by such connections and experience.
Email: jackie[@]imadvocates.org
Hamid Yazdan Panah, Co-Executive Director
Hamid Yazdan Panah is the Co-Executive Director of Immigrant Defense Advocates and the former advocacy director of the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice (CCIJ). Hamid was a founding member of CCIJ as well as the Northern California Rapid Response and Immigrant Defense Network (NCRRIDN), which brought together organizations and communities from the Bay Area, Central Valley and Central Coast. NCRRIDN was the first regional rapid response network in the country, and serves as a model for coordinating community led legal defense during ICE raids. His work included tracking systematic violations of due process during ICE operations in Northern California, which helped result in the filing of a temporary restraining order by the ACLU against ICE during nationwide raids in July of 2019.
In addition to his work with rapid response networks throughout California, Hamid has participated in a number of successful advocacy campaigns, targeting private immigration detention facilities in California. In 2019, Hamid helped lead two statements signed on to by more than 70 organizations, highlighting GEO Group’s corrupt dealings around the Mesa Verde and Adelanto detention facilities. These statements exposed corrupt dealings by private prison corporations and developed a common agenda on challenging the use of private detention.
Hamid also led a statewide advocacy campaign in support of the California Immigrant Justice Fellowship, uniting the Bay Area and rural regions of Northern California in support of the fellowship.
Prior to joining CCIJ, Hamid was a solo immigration attorney in Berkeley, CA. Hamid has a background in advocacy and organizing in the Iranian diaspora, and has written extensively on the human rights abuses and the mistreatment of ethnic minorities in Iran. His perspective on legal issues and human rights has appeared in Reuters, CNN, Huffington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle.
Email: hamid[@]imadvocates.org