The following features the story of a former asylum seeker in the United States, who now works as a volunteer with Esperanza Immigration Legal Services (EILS), mobilizing her skills, lived experience and journey in service of other immigrants in the city. An advocate for over 30 years, Gloria Meijas has dedicated her life to human rights work. In her home country of Venezuela, she integrated her passion for helping others with her commitment to justice, demonstrated by her work as a human rights lawyer, public defender, and supporter of anti-government protests that swept across Venezuela. It was not long before her anti-government advocacy and support of political prisoners endangered her, causing her to flee her home and seek asylum in the United States. Her commitment to truly understanding who she is fighting for remains at the center of her legal advocacy, guiding her through her asylum journey and fueling her motivation for immigration work today.

“I worked as a lawyer for more than 30 years, fighting tirelessly for those whose rights were violated in Spain, Mexico and Venezuela—my home. While advocating for political prisoners in Venezuela, I quickly learned it was less about the technical legal knowledge I had and more about understanding who I was representing. I had to know their fears, motivations, hesitations—their story—to be a true advocate.