Yunuen said that her father would cross the border to work occasionally and cross back to Tijuana to build his medical practice. He finally decided that he wanted to establish a better life for his family in the United States. When I asked Yunuen what her father thinks of her career choice, she mentions that she imagines he is proud since he refers clients to her. After high school, Yunuen went to University of California, Berkeley, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree both in psychology and sociology. While attending the university, she immersed herself in a course in which that introduced her to law. In one of her courses, she had a project in which they engaged with the immigrants in the fields in Salinas, California. Yunuen worked with the agricultural employees and translated brochures for those employees from English to Spanish. She explained that she would see throngs of immigrants arriving in the fields. “They would all live in these little huts or houses on the fields, all bunched up. Someone would fly over the fields at night and spray pesticides, and the effects that they would have on these people were so harmful. Some ended up with cancer, and others had babies with missing limbs. It was horrible to see and none of them dared to speak up because they were all scared,” said Yunuen.
“
THE CHALLENGING MOMENTS REMINDED ME WHY I WAS PRACTICING IMMIGRATION LAW. Yunuen Mora
Yunuen also spent some time abroad when she studied in Spain. Yunuen took more law courses to open her mind to what it contained. Once she finished her classes abroad, she obtained assistant law jobs, pushing her to study and take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). She got accepted into the California Western School of Law, based in San Diego, California. During her time in law school, Yunuen volunteered at local San Diego non-profits such as the Employee Rights Center, which provides legal services regarding employment and labor laws, and Casa Cornelia Law Center, assisting in the representation of indigent asylum seekers. Yunuen passed the California Bar examination and obtained her first job as a lawyer with a former law professor. She also worked at the American Bar Association Immigration Justice Project, representing indigent clients suffering from mental illness during removal proceedings held before an immigration judge to determine whether the individual is to remain in the United States. In 2018, Yunuen opened her own law practice, Cross Border Lawyer, where she has offices in San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Mexico. Yunuen works closely with the San Diego Mexican consulate as a consultant. Yunuen is also a member of the Association of Mother Immigration Attorneys (AMIGA).
Photo contributed by Yunuen Mora “My mom helps people,” says Julia, Yunuen’s daughter.
Not only is she a lawyer, but she is also a mother to an amazing little girl named Julia, 5. When I interviewed Julia, I asked her if she knew what her mother did for work, and her response was, “my mom helps people.”
ARTISTS AND ADVOCATES | 19