Matthew Weisner, Immigration Lawyer
Background and Experience
Matthew has been practicing immigration law since he was admitted to the California Bar in 2013. He previously worked as the Directing Attorney of the Immigration Project of the Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, Inc., where he helped expand capacity, integrate best practices, and introduce new service areas. Matthew also previously worked as the Supervising Attorney at Catholic Charities of the East Bay and Senior Immigration Attorney with the Central American Resource Center of Northern California (CARECEN) where he assisted clients seeking humanitarian and family-based visas and represented adults and unaccompanied minors in removal proceedings. He received his Juris Doctorate from UC Davis School of Law where he was a student-advocate in the Immigration Law Clinic. Matthew continues to support nonprofit organizations providing immigration legal services in a contract consulting role.
Matthew is a founding member of the Santa Cruz County Removal Defense Collaborative, a partnership of private attorneys, government agencies, and community based organizations seeking to expand access to legal services for noncitizens in removal proceedings. Matthew previously served as American Immigration Lawyers Association co-liaison to the San Francisco Asylum Office from 2018-2020 and was a featured panelist at the 2020 American Immigration Lawyers Association National Conference on Immigration Law. He was co-counsel for plaintiff organization CARECEN representing Gregory Doe in Innovation Law Lab v. Nielsen, 366 F. Supp. 3d 1110 (N.D. Cal. 2019) in collaboration with the ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Center for Gender & Refugee Studies in a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s policy to force vulnerable asylum seekers to return to Mexico to await a hearing before an U.S. immigration judge. Matthew is admitted to practice law in California and before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
"Matthew helped me to get my green card when I did not think I had a chance. This opened many doors in my life to work and support my family. I am grateful for all the help."
-- Yadira A.