Miriam attending a meeting of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild with Professor Lynn Marcus.

As the first in her family to attend school beyond the undergraduate level, Arizona Law 3L Miriam Enriquez says her biggest accomplishment is her parents' happiness when they talk about her successes in law school. 

 

After earning her bachelor's degree in criminology from California State University-San Marcos, Miriam volunteered at Libreria del Pueblo, a nonprofit organization in San Bernardino, California, that provides immigration assistance to the community. She noticed how many cases could not move forward because there were not enough attorneys, and that sparked her interest in law school.

 

Miriam began looking for schools with a strong immigration law program, narrowing her choices based on career placement, numbers of graduates in public interest careers, "good value" tuition, and the availability of scholarships.

Arizona Law met all of Miriam's requirements, and a campus visit confirmed it was the perfect fit:

 

"It was something about the school, the staff, other students, and the city itself that just embraced me."

 

After enrolling, she found that professors and students were more than willing to share their own experiences and offer advice when needed:

 

"Arizona Law has a support system that is unparalleled [by] other law schools, and I feel like that is something that has really played into my success."

 

As a student, she has already launched her career in public service, providing just the kind of legal assistance she saw families in need of in her earlier volunteer work. Miriam is now honing her skills and making a difference by working with clients of the Immigration Law Clinic. Through the clinic, she successfully represented a Honduran family seeking asylum after fleeing gang violence.

 

"The extensive interviews, the complexity of asylum cases, and the long hours writing the brief often seemed endless. However, in the end, when the judge granted asylum, everything became worth it! I had the opportunity to see my work make a significant difference in the life of an entire family."

 

Last summer, Miriam had the opportunity to attend a seminar and all-day meeting of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild in Washington, DC, alongside Professor and Co-director of the Immigration Law Clinic, Lynn Marcus. Professor Marcus said that she looked forward to introducing her to fascinating immigration  practitioners from all over the United States. In addition:

"She will learn about the work that immigration lawyers and immigrants' rights advocates are doing across the country, and about the legal arguments and other strategies people are formulating."

 

And after graduation next spring, Miriam's goal is to continue her work in public service:

 

"I feel like a job in public service will not only give me the opportunity to work with my community, but will also give me the opportunity to represent the marginalized members within."