Tammy Lin, Esq.
Education and Accolades
Education
-University of Notre Dame, Bachelor’s Degree (BA)
Political Science with a Minor in Peace Studies
-University of San Diego School of Law, Juris Doctorate (JD)
-University of California, Hastings School of Law, Visiting Student, Legislation Clinic in Sacramento
Employment History
- University of San Diego School of Law, Adjunct Professor and Supervising Attorney for Immigration Clinic, 2022-present
- San Diego Volunteer Lawyer's Program (SDVLP), Contract Attorney to Complete Immigration Program's Cases, 2022-present, Contract Attorney for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) Cases During Attorney's Maternity Leave, 2018
- Legal Aid Society of San Diego, Part-Time Contract Attorney for Immigration Department, 2016
- Jewish Family Service of San Diego, Immigration Attorney, 2008-2016
- Law Office of Peter Chu, Associate Immigration Attorney, 2006-2007
Accolades
- 2022-2025, San Diego Civil Service Commission, Commissioner
- President, March 2023-present
- 2017, Notre Dame Lawyers Club of San Diego, "A Different Kind of Lawyer" Award
- 2015, San Diego Daily Transcript- Top Immigration Attorneys in San Diego
- 2014, Our City San Diego- “Who’s Next” Leaders
- 2014, AILA Advocacy Award
- 2012, New Leaders Council (now San Diego Leadership Alliance) Institute Fellow
Other Legal Experience
- American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego, Post-Bar Clerk
- Professor Orly Lobel, Research Assistant
- Center for Public Interest Law, Public Interest Law Intern
- Texas Civil Rights Project, Summer Clerk
- California Senate Public Safety Committee, Associate Consultant
- Elder Law and Advocacy of San Diego, Summer Intern
- San Diego Public Defender, Intern
Leadership Roles
- American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
- 2022 AILA Asylum Online Course Committee, Chair
- 2022 Elections Judge
- 2021 AILA Asylum Virtual Conference Planning Committee, Member
- 75th Anniversary Committee Member, 2020-2022
- National Media and Advocacy Committee Member, 2014-present, Chair 2017-2019
- Removal Defense Online Course Committee, 2019-2020
- Governance Committee Member, 2018-2019
- California Chapters Conference Co-Chair, 2018
- National USCIS Field Operations Committee Member, 2014-2016
- National Membership Committee, 2015-2016
- Planning Committee for California Chapters Conference, 2012
- Chair, Treasurer and Secretary, San Diego Chapter, 2011-2014
- Chair, San Diego Chapter, 2017-2018
- Immigration Justice Campaign Mentor, 2019-present
AILA ThinkImmigration Blog
October 18, 2022, “The Most Pit of Asylum Law Explained”
January 4, 2021, “Our Immigration Laws Were Last Updated Before the Internet Was a Thing”
January 18, 2017, “Change in Policy for Cuban Immigrants”
June 9, 2016, “Ghosts in History?”
November 19, 2014, “Who Are We Turning Away?”
- Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN)
- Board Member (2012-2014) and Treasurer (2013-2014)
- San Diego Leadership Alliance (SDLA)
- Board Member, 2014-2017
- Co-Chair, Membership and Development Committee, 2015-2017
- Alumni Spotlight
- Notre Dame Club of San Diego, Former Board Member, Secretary (2003-2004) and Young Alumni Coordinator (2002-2004)
Clients in Media
- Vice News Tonight, “Asylum” Portion of Hong Kong Protestors’ Segment, January 28, 2021
- San Diego Union Tribune, “What Asylum Stories Teach Us About the US Response to Racial Justice Protests,” July 3, 2020[Includes Story of Past Haitian Client]
- Voice of San Diego, “Under Travel Ban, A Qualcomm Engineer Has Struggled to Bring His Sick Father to the U.S.,” March 12, 2019
- KPBS, “It’s San Diego Pride, But This Woman is Wanted for Being Gay,” July 13, 2017
- Vice, May 12, 2016, “Why So Many Asylum Seekers Come to America and Wind Up Homeless,”
- KPBS, March 23, 2016, “Syrian Refugee in San Diego Talks about Life 5 Years Into Crisis”
- Radio New Zealand, February 11, 2013, “Asylum Seeker in American Samoa to Pursue Quest in US”
- The Law Insider, “True Story: Stateless and Trapped in McDonald’s in American Samoa”
Media
- NBC7 San Diego, “Judge Orders Halt of Trump-Era Policy That Allowed Expulsion of Asylum Seekers,” November 15, 2022
- San Diego Union Tribune, “Biden’s Marijuana Pardon Not Likely to Help Immigrants with Deportation Cases,” October 7, 2022
- Fox5 San Diego, “Court of Appeals Decides DACA is Illegal,” October 6, 2022
- NBC7 San Diego, “Border Patrol Detains 2 Groups of 100-Plus Migrants Near San Ysidro,” July 28, 2022
- NBC7 San Diego, “What Happens to Ukrainians Upon U.S. Entry, Immigration Lawyer Explains," April 22, 2022
- Bloomberg CityLab, “There’s Now an App for Ukrainians Seeking to Remain in the U.S.,” April 1, 2022
- San Diego Union Tribune, “Biden’s Task Force Explores Legal Status for Separated Migrant Families. It Could Get Complicated,” March 7, 2021
- Voice of San Diego, “Border Report: The Asylum Process is in Limbo,” October 19, 2020
- San Diego Union Tribune, “Commentary: We Are Repeating History by Preventing Asylum Seekers from Pleading Their Cases Inside the U.S.,” September 3, 2020
- “’War Against Riot,’” U.S. Policy Changes Day by Day, 17-Year Old Seeks Asylum,” Apple Daily, August 11, 2020 [Video in Cantonese and Mandarin]
- Documentary Film, “Stuck In Tijuana, 2019
- San Diego Union Tribune, “Cuban Asylum Seekers Once Welcomed into the U.S. Face New Roadblocks with Remain in Mexico,” October 17, 2019
- San Diego Union Tribune, “’Nobody Knows What This Means:’ Trumps New Asylum Restrictions Bring Confusion to San Diego,” September 2, 2019
- San Diego Union Tribune, “San Diego’s Immigration Court Postpones Already-Scheduled Cases to Make Room for Remain in Mexico Hearings,” August 22, 2019
- The New York Review, “The Fight Against Trump’s Other Family Separation Policy,” August 14, 2019
- San Diego Union Tribune, “Trump’s New Fast-Track Deportations Rule Sparks Confusion, Fear in Migrant Communities,” July 24, 2019
- Interview with Czech National Radio Program on US-Mexico Border Issues (at 9:10-10:50)
- Interview with YLE, Finnish News About Asylum Seekers in Mexico
- San Diego Union Tribune, “Scheduling Glitch Affects First Hearings for ‘Remain in Mexico’ Returnees,” March 14, 2019
- Minnesota Public Radio, “Delays Reach ‘Crisis Level’ at Citizenship and Immigration Services,” January 31, 2019
- San Diego Union Tribune, “Immigrants Showing Up to Closed Courts During Shutdown,” January 13, 2019
- KPBS, “Mexican Official Says Main Migrant Shelter in Tijuana Will Close,” January 8, 2019
- San Diego Union Tribune, “Asylum Seekers waiting in Tijuana Blindsided by U.S.-Mexico Agreement,” December 21, 2018
- San Diego Union Tribune, “What Will Happen to Caravan Members Who Cross Illegally Into the U.S.?,” December 4, 2018
- San Diego Union Tribune, “With Goal in Sight, Caravan Members Must Make Tough Choices About Asylum,” November 26, 2018
- KPBS, “Few Central Americans Win Asylum in the US- Here’s How One Man Did It,” October 30, 2018
- North Jersey Record, “Immigrants with Temporary Protected Status Face Bureaucratic Hurdles as Program Winds Down,” October 23, 2018
- Deseret News, “Utah Sen. Mike Lee in Mexico, Guatemala Seeking Solutions to Migrant Caravan,” November 8, 2018
- Law360, “Travel Ban Waiver Process Unclear, Random, Attys Say,” October 11, 2018
- Law360, “Trumps Refugee Admissions May Sink Lower Than 30k Cap,” September 18, 2018
- San Diego Union Tribune, “Three Caravan Fathers Reunite Families After Deadline,” August 16, 2018
- San Diego Union Tribune, “New Guidance for Asylum Officers Could Send Thousands Back from the Border,” July 12, 2018
- San Diego Union Tribune, “San Diego Immigration Court to Pilot Electronic Filing System,” July 9, 2018
- San Diego, Union Tribune, “Should Asylum Seekers Heading to the U.S. Stay in Mexico?” May 21, 2018
- Los Angeles Blade, “Trans Asylum Seekers Finally Get Interviews,” May 11, 2018
- 600KOGO News Radio, “No More DACA Deal,” April 2, 2018
- Voice of San Diego, “In Two High-Profile Arrests, Border Patrol Accused Immigrants of Human Smuggling But Never Turned Over Cases,” April 2, 2018
- San Diego Union Tribune, “San Diego has the Most Noncriminal Immigration Arrests in the Country,” March 12, 2018
- Los Angeles Times, “San Diego Area ICE Arrests of Noncriminal Immigrants Led Nation from October to December, March 12, 2018
- NBC News, “Legal Immigration, Now Under Threat from White House, Key to Reuniting U.S. Families,” January 27, 2018
- NBC Asian America, January 29, 2018
- Our City San Diego, “San Diego’s Justice Defenders,” December 12, 2017
- San Diego Union Tribune, “Population in Local Immigration Jails Swells, More Judges Assigned to Handle Cases,” July 15, 2017
- KPBS, “Growing Deportation Fears Prompt Congressman Juan Vargas to Hold Town Hall,” July 11, 2017
- KUSI, Rep. Juan Vargas Holds Public Forum on Immigration, July 10, 2017
- Rep. Juan Vargas Hosted an Immigration Forum in San Diego, July 10, 2017 Press Release
- Circa.com, “Thousands of Haitian Immigrants Flee to Canada from the U.S.,” September 17, 2017
- KPBS, “Asylum 101: Different Pathways Asylum-Seekers, Refugees Take to Reach the US,” May 8, 2017
- Business Insider, “Trump Just Signed a New Travel Ban That Bars All Refugees from Entering the US for 120 Days-Here Are 7 Surprising Facts About the Refugee Process,” March 6, 2017
- Business Insider, “How the US’s ‘Extreme Vetting’ of Refugees Works,” February 11, 2017
- “Change in Policy for Cuban Immigrants,” ThinkImmigration, January 18, 2017
- Vice, “Texas is Trying to Stop the Influx of Syrian Refugees,” November 8, 2016
- Immigrant Connect Chicago, “Do Immigrants Change Their Names More than Others, and More Than They Once Did,” Justin Deffenbacher
- TimesofSanDiego.com, “DACA Can Spell Hope for Many Undocumented Immigrants,” October 25, 2016
- San Diego Union Tribune, July 22, 2014, “Tammy Lin, Helping Refugees Seek Asylum”
- KUSI News, Interview on Immigration Reform
- CNBC Op-ed, November 18, 2015, “Syrian Refugee Vetting Process is Tough Enough”
- Fox 5 News, August 21, 2013, Opinion on State Bill AB 1159
- Reuters, October 29, 2015, “End of China’s One-Child Policy May Slow U.S. Asylum Cases: Experts”
- Daily Mail, October 29, 2015, “End of China’s One-Child Policy May Slow U.S. Asylum Cases: Experts”
- San Diego Daily Transcript, August 20, 2013, “Gonzalez Immigration Services Bill Draws Mixed Reaction”
Speaking Engagements
- Tammy Lin speaks on the topics of immigration, refugee and asylum law throughout the country.
-AILA Webinar, "Matter of A-B- and Matter of L-E-A- Have Been Vacated: Now What?" July 21, 2021
-AILA Audio Webinar, “Crafting a Winning Particular Social Group for an Asylum Case,” August 27, 2020
-AILA Audio Webinar, “Asylum Updates on Particular Social Groups,” September 6, 2018
-AILA Podcast, "Advocacy Through Media, Congress, and Community Organizations," January 11, 2018
· AILA Asylum Conference
"Mental Health Claims and Considerations: Ensuring Protections and Due Process for Your Client," Virtual (2021)
· AILA Border Conference
"Ethical Insights as Applied to the Asylum Process," Virtual (2022)
· AILA California Chapters Conference
o “Strategies to Counteract the Attacks on Asylum,” San Diego, CA (2018)
o Affirmative Asylum 101: Procedure and Interview Tips, “The Usual Suspects,” Hollywood, CA (2017)
o “Credible and Reasonable Fear/Asylum/TPS,” Coronado, CA (2015)
o “Developments in Asylum and the Convention Against Torture Act,” San Diego, CA (2012)
· AILA Annual Conference
o “Hardship Waivers: Proving Extreme Hardship to a Qualifying Relative,” New York City, NY (2022)
o“Basics of Asylum: Part I,” San Francisco, CA (2018)
o “Retaining and Recapturing Priority Dates in Family Cases,” National Harbor, MD (2015)
o “Law Students and Recent Graduates Panel Discussion,” San Diego, CA (2011)
· AILA Fundamentals Conference,
“Asylum and Related Claims of Relief,” New Orleans, LA (2014)
· AILA Paralegals Conference
o “Removal Case Preparation,” New Orleans, LA (2016)
o “Asylum and Removal Case Preparation,” Las Vegas, NV (2015)
· American Bar Association Immigration Justice Project (IJP), Frequent Presenter on Asylum 101 Training as well as Mentor to Pro Bono Attorneys with Asylum Cases
- · University of San Diego School of Law, California Western School of Law & Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Frequent Panelist on Various Immigration Issues