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 County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, Part-Time Senior Immigration and Legal Advisor, January 2025-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
- 2025, University of San Diego Diversity & Inclusion Impact Award
- 2024, API Leaders of Influence, San Diego Business Journal
- American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) 2024 President's Commendation
- 2022-2023, San Diego Civil Service Commission, Commissioner (Resigned)
- President, March 2023-September 2023 (Resigned)
- 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)
- Public Service Announcement, “What We Know about a Potential ‘Parole in Place’ Program for Spouses of U.S. Citizens,” May 2024
- 2024 AILA Paralegals Conference, Vice-Chair
- 2023 AILA Waivers Online Course Committee, Member
- 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, 2014-2024, Chair 2017-2019
- 2019 AILA Removal Defense Online Course Committee, Member
- 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, 2019-2021
AILA ThinkImmigration Blog
October 18, 2022, “The Mosh 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
- 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
IMDB (Internet Movie Database), Tammy Lin
- 60 Minutes, “Growing Number of Chinese Migrants Crossing into the U.S. at Southern Border,” February 4, 2024
- YouTube, "#itsjustfeminism with Tammy-US Elections and Immigration Policies," September 25, 2024
2025
- NBC7 San Diego, “UC San Diego Say 5 Students Have F-1 Visas Revoked, 6thStudent Deported,” April 14, 2025
- KPBS, “Federal Officials Revoke Four San Diego State University Students’ Visas,” April 10, 2025
- CBS8 San Diego, “Memo Allows IRS to Share Tax Information with ICE for Immigration Enforcement,” April 9, 2025
- KPBS Mid-Day Edition with Jade Hindmon, “Local Jurists Fear for Free Speech Amid Protestor Arrest,” March 25, 2025
- NBC7 San Diego, “Concerns Raised Over San Diego License Plate Readers and Immigration Enforcement,” March 17, 2025
- ABC10 San Diego, “Japanese Americans React to Trump’s Plans to Invoke Alien Enemies Act,” March 13, 2025
- ABC10 San Diego, “’Like a Horror Movie’: German Tourist Detained by ICE Says She Spent Week in Solitary Confinement,” February 28, 2025
- CBS8 San Diego, “Immigration Attorney Explains New Border Immigration Policies,” February 7, 2025
- NBC7 San Diego, “Trump’s Executive Orders and Policy Changes on Immigration,” January 22, 2025
- ABC10 San Diego, “App Used by Asylum Seekers No Longer Working,” January 20, 2025
- CBS8 San Diego, “San Diego Sheriff Speaks Out About County Policy Limiting ICE Cooperation,” January 20, 2025
- KPBS, “School and State Leaders Propose ICE Policies for Schools,” January 17, 2025
- CalMatters, “Can California Keep Ice Away from Schools? Lawmakers Want to Try to as Crackdowns Loom,” January 3, 2025
2024
- iNoticiasMX, “Sin Dreams, y Sin TPS El Desolador Destino Que Pintan Especialistas para Estados Unidos con Trump,” December 15, 2024
- KPBS Mid-Day Edition, “How Mass Deportations Could Impact San Diego,” November 26, 2024
- ABC10 San Diego, “Attorney Analyzes Trump’s Mass Deportation Policy, Impact on San Diego,” November 14, 2024
- KOGO-AM San Diego, Live Five-Minute Interview on Impact of Trump’s Mass Deportation Policies to San Diego, November 13, 2024
- Spectrum News, “’Keeping Families Together’ Decision Weighs on Undocumented Immigrants in America,” November 8, 2024
- NBC7 San Diego, “Department of Homeland Security Pauses Migrant Sponsorship Program Due to Fraud Concerns,” August 6, 2024
- KPBS, “Evening Edition on DACA,” June 18, 2024
- ABC10 San Diego, “Biden Unveils New Immigration Actions,” June 4, 2024
- NBC7 San Diego, “Large Groups of Migrants, Including Children, Cross US-Mexico Border Near San Ysidro,” April 19, 2024
- ABC10 San Diego, “Debate Between Crime and Immigration, Statistics Show No Increase Compared to U.S. Citizens,” February 29, 2024
- The U.S. Sun, “Great Border Wall: Troubling Spike in Chinese Migrants Illegally Crossing US-Mexico Border ‘Yearning for Freedom’ with 24k Last Year Alone,” February 19, 2024
2023
- Fox Local, “Chinese Nationals Increasingly Crossing Border Illegally into California,” December 12, 2023
- ABC10 San Diego, “Report Says Visa Backlog Driving Migrants to Southern Border,” November 23, 2023
- CBS8 San Diego, “Title 8: Migrants Follow Step-by-Step Process to Asylum,” May 19, 2023
- ABC10 San Diego, “Housing Migrants after Title 42 Expired,” May 12, 2023
- KPBS San Diego, “Tijuana Shelters Full Ahead of Supreme Court’s Title 42 Hearing,” January 4, 2023
2022
- University of San Diego, “At the Edge of it All Podcast: A Discussion with Tammy Lin and Her Experience as an Immigration Attorney,” December 14, 2022
- 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
2021
2020
- 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]
2019
- 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
2018
- 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
2017
- 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
2016
- 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
2015
- KUSI News, Interview on Immigration Reform
- CNBC Op-ed, November 18, 2015, “Syrian Refugee Vetting Process is Tough Enough”
- 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”
2014
2013
- Fox 5 News, August 21, 2013, Opinion on State Bill AB 1159
- 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 "Complex I-130 Issues: Avoiding and Challenging Denials or Revocations (Part I) (Advanced)," Chicago, IL (2024)
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 “Humanitarian Cases: 'Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free,” Las Vegas, NV (2024)
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 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