El Paso Team

In May 2022 Marcela joined KIND as Managing Attorney in the El Paso office. Marcela has focused her legal practice on providing stability, security, and peace of mind for her clients. Prior to joining KIND, Marcela led the Children’s Program at Human Rights Initiative of North Texas, served as an Advisory Committee Member for the ABA Children’s Immigration Law Academy, and was a Leadership ISD Legislative Voices Fellow focusing on education advocacy in Texas. Throughout her career, Marcela has provided counsel on immigration, family, education, and opportunity creation. Her breadth of professional experience paired with her personal experience as the child of both an immigrant and a non-immigrant parent gives her a multifaceted lens that she applies to her work. Marcela graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies with concentrations in Business and Spanish, and later earned her Juris Doctor from Oklahoma City University School of Law. During law school, Marcela participated in an international program focused on Human Rights and Humanitarian law in The Hague, Netherlands, and Freiburg, Germany. Marcela is an avid reader of thriller novels, and enjoys baking, kayaking, and adventuring with her pets.

Vanessa Alfaro is a native Texan practicing Immigration Law in the city of Houston. She earned her Juris Doctorate from Texas Tech University School of Law in May of 2015. During her time in law school, Vanessa interned with the Innocence Project of Texas while also volunteering with the Estate Law Society. Her volunteer work consisted of drafting wills for Veterans which lead her to receive recognition from the Pro Bono College of the State Bar of Texas in 2015. Vanessa began her legal career working for a boutique law firm dedicated to Immigration Law. It was there where she gained significant experience in deportation defense and family based immigration. In her free time, as a true Houstonian at heart, she enjoys cheering on the Dynamo and the Rockets.

Enrique Chavira Cantu is a DACA Recipient and an advocate for Immigration Reform and Immigrant Rights who supports the El Paso Office as Supervising Paralegal. Enrique joined the KIND team in July 2020. Enrique graduated from Texas A&M University in 2014 and prior to coming to KIND obtained experience with humanitarian, employment, investment, and family-based immigration by working with multiple non-profit and private organizations. One of Enrique’s notable achievements is having worked on the preparation of Budhathoki v. Nielsen, a landmark case in S.I.J. argued before the Fifth District Appellate Court. In 2015, Enrique was admitted to St. Mary's University School of Law where he began his law school career, but was unable to finish due to unforeseen events- he plans on returning to law school in the near future. Enrique has been supporting our Emergency Intake teams in the past year, having worked in San Antonio, San Diego, and now El Paso. In his free time, Enrique enjoys building puzzles and reading. If you enjoy reading, feel free to ask him how you can check a book out from his personal library! Besides the usual self-care, Enrique can be found spending time with his twin brother, his older sister, and his parents.

Bio coming soon!

Perla J. Rubio Terrones supports the Legal Services Department at KIND as a staff attorney. She began her position in June of 2022. Prior to being a staff attorney, she worked as a Clinical Instructor at the Immigrant Justice Clinic (IJC) of the University of Wisconsin Law School for two years where she also graduated as a first-generation graduate student in May of 2020 with her Juris Doctor degree. During law school, she also worked as a clinical law student and a project assistant in the IJC and served as a volunteer coordinator for the Community Immigration Law Center in Madison, Wisconsin. During her time in IJC, she represented non-citizens in immigration court and in front of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. She also helped coordinate experiential learning trips to the border to assist women and children in immigration detention. Prior to law school, she graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso with a bachelor’s in Political Science and a minor in Communications. During her undergraduate degree, she worked as a college guidance teacher in a low-income high school and as a visitation specialist for YMCA. She also volunteered in various nonprofit organizations and was very active in her local community. She was born in El Paso, TX, but was raised just across the border in the City of Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico by immigrant parents. Since a young Latina girl, her passion has been to serve others, especially those marginalized and underrepresented. She enjoys playing soccer, singing, and dancing and currently leads worship with her husband in their local Hispanic church. Perla feels honored to be part of the KIND team.

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon!

Jessica I. Ramirez supports the Paralegal, EIS Team at KIND. She received her Associates Degree as a Paralegal in 2014, receiving her education in her hometown in El Paso, TX. She joined the KIND team in June 2022. Before joining the KIND team Jessica worked as the head Paralegal in an Immigration Law Firm. Working and helping people from diverse cultures and countries, she has gained knowledge on a multiple ethnic background. Jessica hopes to get her degree in psychology majoring in mental health to have a better understanding of the human behavior and to gather more knowledge to help those she works with.

Lizbeth Cabrera is a Paralegal, for Legal Programs at Kids in Need of Defense (KIND). She joined KIND in October 2022 and holds a real estate license and an associate degree in Applied Science in Paralegal Studies. Lizbeth first joined the legal field in 2018 shortly after graduating, entering a criminal defense firm where she started as a receptionist and was soon promoted to a paralegal position where her duties included preparing files for court, reviewing evidence, drafting motions, meeting with clients, and accompany the attorney to court hearings. Lizbeth then transitioned to another law office working for a criminal/civil defense attorney and municipal presiding judge where she held various similar duties as in the prior office. After working as a paralegal for about two years Lizbeth transitioned to an engineering firm where she was an administrative assistant then executive assistant. In these roles she carried a variety of responsibilities from coordinating meetings and managing the company principles calendar, recordation of documents, meeting with clients, notarizing documents, answering various phone lines, and project coordination with ESD#1, HRMUD, PDEMUD, City and County of El Paso.

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon!