Maria Elena Andrade

I am an immigration attorney, litigator, advocate who is passionate about making the legal system work for those who need it most. I am particularly interested in the intersection of race, disability and labor justice with immigration law and policy.

As a senior attorney, I have tackled a wide variety of extremely complex cases: removal, family, naturalization, detention, asylum and humanitarian visas. For businesses I provide consulting on employer sanctions, I-9 audit defense and other advice.

Background:

I started my career fighting for farmworkers, then dove headfirst into civil rights. When friends were unable to persuade me otherwise, I took my opinionated self to Idaho - a state without any free legal services for people facing deportation. That would change 19 years later.

Without a non-profit home, I built Andrade Legal into Idaho's leading immigration law firm. And because I’ve always believed that access to justice shouldn't be a luxury, I transitioned from private practice to establish Immigrant Justice Idaho and fill the gap in Idaho’s services for low income people caught up in the deportation process. Though the entity later closed under different leadership.

Current Practice

Now, I have a small private office in Boise, Idaho. I share my expertise and strategies with lawyers and businesses providing consultation and expert testimony, technical training and writing. For individuals, I offer in depth case analysis. 

When not thinking immigration, you'll find me cooking for friends and family, spoiling my senior dog, working in my garden of "tough love," and convincing like minded folks that Idaho's mountains and rivers provide the perfect backdrop (and fodder) for changing the world.