myPadilla
Austin, TX
myPadilla aims to improve access to justice and protect the constitutional rights of immigrants in the criminal justice system in Texas. Leveraging technology to scale remote access to immigration expertise, myPadilla will reduce the inequitable outcomes of the criminal justice system by ensuring that immigrants receive advice regarding the immigration consequences of contact with the criminal justice system, as required by the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Padilla v. Kentucky.
Prior to launching myPadilla, Julie Wimmer worked as an immigration attorney at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid in Austin, Texas, first as a Skadden Fellow and later as a staff attorney. Her practice there involved representing detained and non-detained indigent clients in removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review and Board of Immigration Appeals in applications for asylum, withholding of removal, Convention Against Torture protection, cancellation of removal, and other benefits. She also represented clients in affirmative applications with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services for acquired citizenship, VAWA, U and T nonimmigrant status, DACA, registry, naturalization, and other matters. She also conducted federal civil litigation on employment and passport matters, from discovery to trial. Before joining TRLA, Julie clerked for the Honorable Judge George P. Kazen, Senior District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, in Laredo, Texas. Before becoming an attorney, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Caazapa, Paraguay. She graduated from the University of Texas-Austin with a B.A. in 2005.