You've seen the headlines: Arrests at courthouses, due process ignored, immigrants sent to extraordinarily dangerous countries where they know no one.
You've been asking yourself: How did we get here? What can I do? Can I actually make a difference?
Join us to hear what's really happening in the courts from two former immigration judges and a deputy public defender, along with learning about the many ways you can help immigrants directly.
Free to the public, limited seating
Presenters:
Jeremiah Johnson, Former Immigration Judge
Jeremiah Johnson is a recognized authority on immigration and refugee law. Spanning four administrations, he has served as an Immigration Judge with the Department of Justice and as an Asylum Officer with the Department of Homeland Security. Prior to public service, Jeremiah practiced immigration law representing migrants and asylum seekers before the immigration agencies and federal courts. He is currently Counselor at Law at Johnson Law & Consulting. Jeremiah also serves as the Executive Vice President of the National Association of Immigration Judges. Previously, he served on the Board of Human Rights Advocates (HRA) and has represented HRA at various United Nations bodies. He has traveled and met firsthand with migrants, refugees, government officials, and humanitarians. Jeremiah has also been featured in local, national, and international media and is a frequent presenter on seminars addressing the current state of immigration.
Kyra Lilien, Senior Counsel, Van Der Hout, LLC
Kyra S. Lilien is Senior Counsel at Van Der Hout, LLC, an immigration law firm based in San Francisco. She served as an Immigration Judge for two years in the San Francisco and Concord immigration courts until the Trump Administration terminated her from that position in July 2025. Prior to taking the bench, Kyra served as the director of immigration legal services at Jewish Family & Community Services – East Bay, as staff attorney at the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, as an asylum officer at the San Francisco Asylum Office and as the immigration program director at Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland, California. Additionally she has taught Asylum & Refugee Law at UC Berkeley School of Law. Kyra is well-known for her experience and expertise in both immigration and International law.
Ali Saidi, Director, Stand Together Contra Costa, Deputy Public Defender Immigration Attorney, Office of the Public Defender Contra Costa County
Ali is an immigrant from Iran and an active participant in immigrant rights and anti-violence advocacy efforts in our community. For over twenty years, he has been using both litigation and policy advocacy to fight for community members dehumanized by our systems of mass incarceration and mass deportation. He has taught criminal defense pre-trial advocacy at Berkeley School of Law, and he has practiced criminal defense and deportation defense throughout the Bay Area and before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is currently the Director of Stand Together Contra Costa, the rapid response and immigration legal services program for Contra Costa County which is administered by the Office of the Public Defender. He is also a Deputy Public defender who specializes in the intersection between immigration law and criminal law. In addition, he is a founding member of the Contra Costa Immigrant Rights Alliance.
The Friends of La Pẽna Immigrant Rights (FLPIR) is an independent, unaffiliated volunteer organization that works closely with other immigrant rights groups in the Bay Area and nationally, focusing primarily on providing educational workshops and materials that explain immigrant constitutional rights, including for those who are undocumented. We also protest violations and abuses of these rights, as well as advocate for just and humane immigration policies. To learn more, please visit www.flpir.org.