Featured Press
Immigration attorneys turn to centuries-old legal tool to help release clients from ICE custody
October 15, 2025
“What we have found in this moment where so many people are being detained including so many people like Melissa who have been living in the U.S. their whole lives and have these really old deportation orders from really old criminal convictions,” Tran’s lawyer, Jennie Pasquarella said. “This legal mechanism, habeas corpus is the single most powerful tool we can use.”
Judge rules ICE unlawfully detained a Seattle man. He's not alone.
October 15, 2025
“The government [was] trying to expeditiously deport him,” said Jennie Pasquarella, the organization’s legal director. Pasquarella and her team allege Phetsadakone’s arrest was unlawful, because ICE didn’t notify him of their intention to suspend his supervised release and attempt to deport him.
Green Card Holder Held by ICE for Months Over Decades-Old Crime Speaks Out
October 14, 2025
Melissa Tran's lawyer, Jennie Pasquarella, told Newsweek: “Her case really highlights the lack of fairness in the immigration system, that you could be deported for a relatively minor property crime that had occurred more than 20 years ago, without any consideration of the fact that the government has effectively allowed her to live her life here and build her life here. She’s established she is a hardworking, productive member of our society who is much loved, and it absolutely makes no sense to remove her from her community and from her family.”
After months in ICE detention, a Maryland mother holds her children again
October 14, 2025
Tran said she learned of her release in a message early Sunday morning from her attorney Jennie Pasquarella, who’s based in Washington. Tran jumped up and down in excitement, waking some of the other detainees. Soon after Tran was freed, Pasquarella took her to a local Vietnamese restaurant, where Tran said she was still shaking as they enjoyed bowls of pho.
Targeted for deportation, WA immigrants with convictions seek pardons
Feb. 16, 2025
“It’s one of the very few options that exist when a conviction creates mandatory deportation,” said Jennie Pasquarella, legal director of the nonprofit Seattle Clemency Project.
Los Angeles County votes to pay $14 million to former immigrant detainees
October 13, 2020
“This is a very significant settlement, and it is hopefully a wake-up call to law enforcement agencies around the country who continue to hold people for ICE,” said Jennie Pasquarella, director of immigrants’ rights and senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Southern California.
'I'm going home': Deported veteran Hector Barajas-Varela to become a U.S. citizen
March 30, 2018
"Finally, after years of fighting for the rights of deported veterans to return to the U.S., Hector will be able to return home as an American citizen," said Jennie Pasquarella, director of immigrants' rights for the ACLU of California and one of Baraja-Varela’s attorneys.
15 Years After Deportation, Marine Wins Right to Come Back to U.S.
Dec. 18, 2017
The government does not keep a tally of deported veterans. The American Civil Liberties Union has documented at least 200 cases, but Jennie Pasquarella, a lawyer with the A.C.L.U. of Southern California, said the number is most likely higher. The overwhelming majority of those deported have been convicted of drug-related crimes, including possession and trafficking.
More Press
The Seattle Times | September 6, 2025 | ICE releases Seattle father detained for decades-old fraud
The Chronicle | June 16, 2025 | Washing state Clemency and Pardons Board will be expanded
Reuters | July 4, 2025 | US judge clears the way for imminent deportation of 8 migrants to South Sudan
New York Times | July 26, 2021 | Deported Veterans Long to Return From Exile. Some Will Get the Chance.
The Los Angeles Times | October 13, 2020 | L.A. County to pay out $14 million over unlawful immigration holds
The Los Angeles Times | February 7, 2020 | Federal judge deals major blow to ICE practice of asking local police to detain people
C-Span | October 29, 2019 | Jennie Pasquarella testified before a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the impact of the Trump administration's immigration policy on immigrants who serve in the military