Paralegal

Martin serves as a paralegal, working primarily on cases of detained immigrants. Originally a high school teacher, he transitioned into managing the adult ESL program at Canal Alliance, a nonprofit serving the immigrant community in and around San Rafael. He built up the program to encompass over 600 students and 100 volunteers per semester, while simultaneously helping many clients with a wide variety of needs. After developing expertise assisting families with loved ones detained at the border, he moved into providing legal services full time. Before coming to CARECEN SF, he served as program coordinator at the University of San Francisco’s Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic. People keep asking him when he is going to go to law school. Answer: Not yet.

Martin is on the board of directors at La Raza Community Resource Center, where he has taught citizenship classes for nearly twenty years. He has made several trips to the southern border, helping immigrants detained in Texas and asylum seekers waiting in Mexico. He has traveled on five continents, and lived two years in China. Some days he dreams of saving the world. Other days, he just dreams of being a pilot.

Team