2019 NLG Leonard Weinglass Fellowship Recipient: Michael Galvan

The National Lawyers Guild Foundation and NLG National Office are thrilled to announced the recipient of the 2019 Leonard I. Weinglass Memorial Fellowship, Michael Galvan of the San Diego NLG Chapter! The Weinglass Fellowship is awarded annually to a NLG member and recent law school graduate. Fellows receive an award to spend 10 weeks working on a project in line with the mission of the NLG and the career of Weinglass.

As the recipient of the 2019 Fellowship, Michael will be establishing an important part of a comprehensive LGBTQ+ Border Rights Project, working on parole and sponsorship for LGBTQ+ migrants. With the support of the NLG International Committee, he will relocate to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to work with the Santa Fe Dreamer’s Project to provide post prison release support for transgender women seeking asylum as well as to their sponsors. The goal will be to build off of the work started by SFDP to expand its training of volunteers, to vet potential parole sponsors, enlarge the pool of trans competent and trauma informed sponsors who can then be matched to the right woman seeking asylum.

This project will be undertaken with best practices in mind while improving coordination with both legal and nonlegal nonprofits and grassroots organizers nationwide, so that others can build in-house networks and streamline the vetting of sponsors for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, all with the aim of shortening the duration of detention for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers.

Michael received his JD from Lewis & Clark Law School in 2017 and currently serves as co-chair of the NLG Queer Caucus. After passing the CA Bar exam in November 2017, Michael relocated to Tijuana, B.C., where he currently lives, works, and volunteers with Al Otro Lado connecting LGBTQ+ asylum seekers to legal services and humanitarian aid.

Please join us in congratulating Michael! ​

Image: 2019 Weinglass recipient Michael Galvan visiting the office of Ilhan Omar in Washington DC while attending a Congressional briefing on “Centering LQBTQ+ Migrants.”

 

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