Vera Institute of Justice

Liz Gonzalez grew up in Los Angeles and is a graduate of Reed College in Portland, Oregon and Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, California. She served as a supervising attorney with the Immigration Center for Women and Children (ICWC) where she handled U Visas, VAWA, and naturalization matters. While at ICWC, she gained experience in probate court arguing special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) matters and representing unaccompanied minors in their removal proceedings in immigration court. At Bet Tzedek Legal Services in Los Angeles, Liz represented children and caretakers in contested probate guardianship proceedings. After the Trump Administration took office, Liz helped create Bet Tzedek's Rapid Response program, where she provided Know Your Rights presentations to mixed-status families all over Los Angeles county and trained community leaders, organizations, and pro bono attorneys in SIJS and Guardianship law. She expanded Bet Tzedek's legal services to include the removal defense of unaccompanied children, for whom she filed asylum matters, SIJS Petitions, U Visas and T Visas. She also volunteered with the Dilley Pro Bono Project. Liz is bilingual in English and Spanish and was based out of Vera’s LA office.