Annaluisa Padilla
Biography
Annaluisa Padilla, an immigration lawyer in La Habra, CA, is AILA’s Immediate Past President for the 2018–2019 term.
Ms. Padilla established her practice in 2002. As a solo practitioner she has represented individuals in removal proceedings, and before the federal court and USCIS; she also represents small businesses and corporations in employment-based petitions. Her practice is focused on humanitarian relief including asylum, VAWA and representing unaccompanied minors. Prior to her AILA service, Ms. Padilla served on the Boards of several Bar Associations including the Mexican American Bar Association (MABA) and the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) where she just completed her term as Assistant Vice President. She has volunteered with the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), the Domestic Violence Project, and the HIV & AIDS Legal Services Alliance. Additionally, she serves as pro bono attorney for ProBar and Kids In Need of Defense (KIND).
Ms. Padilla was born in Guatemala and immigrated to the United States in 1983, when her family settled in Van Nuys, CA. She obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and her law degree from Whittier Law School in 1997.
Ms. Padilla resides in Los Angeles, California with her husband Jerry Turgeon.
She is fluent in Spanish, and conversational in German and Portuguese. Ms. Padilla is active on social media; her Twitter handle is @apesq.
Expertise (English/Spanish)
Family, General, Removal, Waivers, Naturalization, Asylum, Deportation.
Selected Recent Blog Posts
- Think Immigration: Working Together As Change Agents (February 27, 2018)
- Think Immigration: Guardians of Our Constitution (June 30, 2017)
- Reactions to the President's Joint Address to Congress (AILA Leadership Blog, March 1, 2017)
- The American People Have Elected the 45th President (November 9, 2016)
- What is Donald Trump’s Position on Immigration? (AILA Leadership Blog, August 31, 2016)
- Outrage (AILA Leadership Blog, May 18, 2016)
- What Happened Yesterday (AILA Leadership Blog, April 19, 2016)
- The End Nears for this Politically Charged Game of Chess (AILA Leadership Blog, April 14, 2016)
- New Opportunities to Move Forward in 2016 (AILA Leadership Blog, January 19, 2016)
- Can the Innocence of a Child Soften the Hearts of Anti-Immigrants? (AILA Leadership Blog, October 8, 2015)
- When Our Government Operates in Its Own Flawed Reality, the Most Vulnerable Suffer (AILA Leadership Blog, September 28, 2015)
- Little By Little, We Tear Down the Walls of Family Detention (AILA Leadership Blog, June 25, 2015)
- From Leave It to Beaver to Modern Family (AILA Leadership Blog, March 2, 2015)
- Politicizing Established Principles of Prosecutorial Discretion Without Offering Real Solutions (AILA Leadership Blog, February 17, 2015)
- Latinos: History Proves Your Votes Can Make a Difference (AILA Leadership Blog, October 31, 2014)
Selected Opinion Pieces by Ms. Padilla:
- We are as rich a nation as those who live among us (The Hill, September 21, 2015)
- Prosecutorial discretion - a catalyst for immigration reform (The Hill, December 3, 2013)
Selected Recent Articles that Quoted Ms. Padilla:
- NBC News: Experts cast doubt on DHS claim that traffickers are posing as families at the border (June 22, 2018)
- New York Times: Justice Dept. Restricts a Common Tactic of Immigration Judges (May 18, 2018)
- Associated Press (AP): US visa boss insists mission statement isn’t anti-immigrant (February 26, 2018)
- OC Register Trump’s travel ban brings lawyers back to LAX
- SoCal's undocumented youth under Trump: 'It's difficult, not knowing what will happen' (KPCC, November 10, 2016)
Selected Videos:
- AILA Quicktake #102: Karnes Family Detention Center (October 15, 2014)
- AILA Quicktake #85: House Hearings on Unaccompanied Minors (June 26, 2014)
- AILA Quicktake #84: Announcement on Increased Family Detention Facilities (June 22, 2014))