Celebrating Immprof Achievements in 2025

(Updated December 30, 2025)

Immigration law professors around the country had a whole lot to celebrate in 2025. Check out these professional developments.

New Jobs:

• Jacob Hamburger joined Marquette Law as an Assistant Professor of Law.
• Mackenzie Heinrichs joined Utah's S.J. Quinney College of Law as Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Refugee and Immigration Law Clinic.
• Annie Bright accepted her first tenure-track position at St. Mary's. She's VAPing now and will be TT in the fall!
• Abel Rodríguez made a pre-tenure lateral move to Wake Forest!
• Cori Alonso-Yoder joined Maryland Law as director of their immigration clinic.
• Maureen Sweeny is now the Faculty Director of Maryland's Chacón Center for Immigrant Justice.
• Dree Collopy began teaching in the American University Washington College of Law Immigrant Justice Clinic. She also teaches Asylum and Refugee Law at AU.

Promotions and Awards:

• Anna Welch (Maine) she won an award from the ACLU of Maine called the Justice Louis Scolnik Award, which "recognize[s] Mainers who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to the protection of civil rights and civil liberties."
• Jocelyn Cazares Willingham, Co-Director of the UDC Law Immigration Clinic, was promoted to Associate Professor of Law.
• H. Marissa Montes Director of Loyola Law School's Immigrant Justice Clinic (LIJC), was promoted to Associate Clinical Professor and opened the first binational clinic in the country (U.S. / Guadalajara, MX).
• Natalie Nanasi was promoted to full professor at SMU!
• Kate Evans received the Duke Law Faculty Award for Excellence in Community and Public Service. 

Administrative Gigs:

• César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández became the director of Ohio State University’s Latinx Studies Program in August
• Emily Torstveit Ngara became the director of clinical programs at Georgia State in July.
• Jennifer M. Chacón is the new Associate Dean for the JD Program at Stanford.
• Liz Keyes is now the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Baltimore.
• Anna Welch stepped down from her role as the co-director of Maine Law's clinical programs. She continues to direct the she school's Refugee and Human Rights Clinic.
• Paulina Vera became the Director of the GW Law Immigration Clinic.
• Margaret Taylor began serving as Wake Forest's Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in January 2025.
• Cristina Rodríguez has been selected as the next dean of Yale Law School.
• Kate Evans was appointed to the role of Director of Clinical Programs for Duke Law.

Retirements:

• Maria Pabon has retired from the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.
• Philip Schrag has retired from Georgetown.
• Alberto Benítez stepped down as the Director of the GW Law Immigration Clinic on June 30, 2025 after 29 years running the Clinic and will take emeritus status in January 2026.

Other News:

• Evelyn H Cruz received her PhD in transborder studies from Arizona State!

 Congratulations to all!