A Fellow's IJC journey - Genesis Aguirre Guerra
2023 Justice Fellow Genesis Aguirre Guerra, a Fellow at the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, shares her IJC story. From a 12-year-old who knew she wanted to work in immigrant justice to a law student unsure of where she wanted to live to a practicing immigration attorney, Genesis has remained steadfast in her commitment to immigrants.
She now works as a staff attorney at Amica.
For 2023 Justice Fellow Genesis Aguirre Guerra, arriving at Immigrant Justice Corps was the culmination of a long-held dream.
“Since I was 12, I wanted to be an immigration attorney,” Genesis said.
As a child, she watched her parents immigration struggle without an attorney and saw first-hand how difficult the process was for those facing the unjust immigration system in the United States.
After graduating from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2018, Genesis spent a few years applying to law schools and working, thinking about her childhood dream.
In 2020, she began law school at UDC David A. Clarke School of Law, and quickly connected with Lindsay M. Harris, then the Director of the UDC Immigration & Human Rights Clinic. Lindsay is now Director of the Frank C. Newman International Human Rights Clinic at University of San Francisco School of Law.
“I said, ‘Hey, I want to be an immigration attorney. Can you help me?’” Genesis said to Lindsay. “She was the best and continues to be the best.”
During her time at law school, Genesis was part of the UDC Immigration & Human Rights Clinic, run by Lindsay, where she represented two client families in their asylum cases. She was also a summer fellow at Yale’s Workers and Immigrant Rights Clinic and UCLA’s Center for Immigration Law and Policy.
“Genesis sought me out as a first-year law student and engaged in every possible opportunity available to prepare for a career serving low-income immigrants,” Lindsay said. “In class, she was not afraid to share her own personal experience and how her family has been and continues to be affected by the U.S. immigration system.”
With her graduation looming, Genesis knew what she wanted her next step to be – IJC. She had first heard of IJC on X (formerly Twitter) several years prior, and had kept the organization in mind ever since. But, there was one hitch in the plan.
“I didn’t know where I wanted to go,” Genesis said. IJC places Fellows at partner organizations across the country to complete their fellowships, and applicants are asked to share their location preferences.
Genesis was considering a placement at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas clinic, to be close to friends and family, but she wasn’t totally sure it would be best for her.
Lindsay came to the rescue. She had an extra ticket to a gala being thrown by the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights (formerly CAIR Coalition) in Washington, D.C. The event would be the perfect opportunity for Genesis to network and learn more about organizations in the field, Lindsay told her.
Meanwhile, three IJC staff members also had tickets to the same event – IJC Chief Executive Officer Jojo Annobil, Chief Operations Officer Christa Stewart and Fellowship Manager Sophia N. Welbeck.
Cut to the bustling gala – Genesis sees the IJC staff members across the room, and starts fangirling. An Amica Center attorney walks over with Genesis and introduces her to Jojo, Christa and Sophia.
“Oh my gosh, I’ve been wanting to apply to you guys,” Genesis said to the trio. “This is my application cycle. I’m so excited to eventually, hopefully, become part of your team.”
They spent a few minutes talking about the fellowship and how excited they were to read her application. As the meeting began to wrap up, Sophia suggested Genesis take a picture with Jojo.
“We’re going to document your future right now,” Sophia said to Genesis.
The two posed side by side, Jojo’s smile wide and Genesis’ lighting up her eyes behind a face mask.
After the gala, Genesis began an externship with Amica. And when she made it through the first application round for the Justice Fellowship and was asked about her placement preference, she decided to pick the organization that had begun to feel like home.
In September 2023, Genesis officially began a Justice Fellowship, placed at Amica where she worked on the Detained Adults Program, representing detained immigrants in removal proceedings.
“Genesis is a great advocate because she is humble, curious, and approaches every situation with calm, yet fierce tenacity,” Lindsay said. “She constantly asks probing questions and is a creative problem solver with deep empathy for the clients she walks alongside in their immigration journeys.”
In August, Genesis graduated from her fellowship, but stayed on at Amica, where she now works as a staff attorney.
“I’m a very emotional person, and this is emotional work, and I’m able to actually be authentically myself,” Genesis said of her time at Amica. “I’ve had a great experience – I’ve had a supportive supervisor, I’ve had a supportive team.”
Watching Genesis grow into a fearless champion for her detained clients has been an absolute joy, Jojo said.
“Genesis’s unwavering commitment to immigrant rights, nurtured by dedicated mentors and now flourishing through hands-on practice, represents exactly the kind of passion-driven advocacy our communities need,” he said.
And her journey is a reminder of why IJC created the Justice Fellowship program, Jojo said.
“Genesis embodies the future we are working to build in immigrant rights law,” he said.
In September, Genesis joined Jojo and Sophia in D.C. once again, alongside several other IJC Fellows and alumni for a dinner.
“Connecting with my predecessors and those coming after me, I was able to learn about their experiences and get to know them a little bit more,” Genesis said. “I really enjoyed seeing everyone.”
Want to hear from more Fellows like Genesis? Visit our Fellow Story page to learn more!
