Irma Valdez

Irma Valdez has been an attorney for 17 years, and concentrates exclusively in Immigration Law. Born in a small village in Michoacán, Mexico, Irma spent several years growing up in the migrant camps of California -- where her mother and farmer worked as fruit pickers.  Later, to stabilize their children’s education, Irma’s parents took factory jobs in Chicago, living in the low-income Pilsen neighborhood where gang violence and corner-shootings were near daily occurrences.  Irma attended Benito Juarez High School, where students had to pass through metal detectors each morning just to enter the school.  After graduating from Benito Juarez H.S., Irma attended Brown University in Providence R.I., majoring in Latino Studies.  Upon graduation from Brown, Irma returned to Chicago to help her family, and simultaneously attended Loyola Law School.

After graduating from Loyola Law School, Irma was appointed Asst. Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago, where she spent a number of years handling police misconduct and other civil rights cases.  Irma left Chicago and accepted an appointment as an Asst. U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C.  In addition to prosecuting a number of important criminal cases, Irma represented the U.S. Department of Justice abroad as a cultural exchange representative -- where she taught the U.S. Justice System to judges and attorneys of other nations. In addition to her legal background, Irma’s brings a strongly held commitment to public service.  She founded and chaired the highly successful non-profit organization “Latino Home Initiative” -- dedicated to transforming working-class families from renters to home-owners.  In addition, she has served for the past 5-years as a Commissioner for the City of Portland Planning Commission -- where she was the driving force behind the name change from 39th Street to Cesar E. Chavez Blvd.  Irma is also a graduate of the American Leadership Forum, and is a current member of the Oregon Chapter of Emerge.