Jessica Martínez
Director of Policy and Coalition Building
Jessica Inez Martínez, Esq., is the Director of Policy and Coalition Building and an Immigration Attorney at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center (NMILC). Jessica specializes in working with unaccompanied minors and vulnerable immigrant children eligible for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). NMILC led efforts with impacted communities, advocates, and legislators to pass House Bill 15 in 2023, which codified and streamlined the process for SIJS in New Mexico. The Special Immigrant Juvenile Classification Act has expanded eligibility for immigrant children who have been abused, abandoned, and neglected by one or both parents to have a pathway to permanent legal status. Jessica was the subject matter expert during legislative committee hearings and floor debates. Jessica collaborates with attorneys across the state and the Administrative Office of the Courts to implement the law through legal education, training, monitoring cases statewide, and addressing access issues.
Jessica leads the policy team at NMILC, addressing immigrant rights issues at the local, state, and federal levels. Jessica continues working as a subject matter expert on the Immigrant Safety Act. She helps lead the Dignity Not Detention Coalition, a large coalition of organizations dedicated to uplifting the voices of immigrants in detention and working to end their suffering by educating on immigrant detention conditions and the urgent need for the state to stop contracting with ICE to detain immigrants in civil detention. Jessica and her team are committed to applying an anti-oppression lens to their work by centralizing and uplifting the voices of people of color and immigrants. The NMILC policy team works to bring a collaborative model by providing holistic and direct legal services that feed their advocacy efforts. With the help of coalition partners, including local artists through artivism (art activism), they collectively depict experiences of impacted communities through movement building to inspire positive generational change.
Jessica graduated from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2021. She obtained an Indian Law Certificate and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Tribal Law Journal, Vice President of the Student Bar Association, and Chief Justice of the Graduate and Professional Student Association. Jessica interned for the ACLU of New Mexico during law school, conducting legal research on immigrant rights issues. Jessica also served as an advanced clinical law student in the Southwest Indian Law Clinic, where she worked with tribal communities on matters related to criminal law and environmental law. As an intern and clinical law student, Jessica dedicated additional hours to work for the Leaffer Border Justice Initiative. Due to her efforts, she was awarded the Dean’s Award for Significant Contribution to the Law School Community.
Before law school, Jessica worked as a legal secretary, community activist, and volunteer. She has volunteered with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) for over 18 years and was elected to local, state, and national leadership positions. Jessica serves as the board president of Naeva (formerly known as Native American Voters Alliance). She is a board member of NMCAN, an organization dedicated to enhancing the transition of young people aging out of foster care into adulthood. Jessica is also a graduate of Emerge NM, class of 2022. Jessica is proud of her Indigenous heritage and is an enrolled member of the Chihene Nde Nation of New Mexico, also known as the Warm Springs Band of Apaches. She is also proud to be the daughter of a Mexican immigrant. Her mother’s strength and resilience inspired her to join social justice efforts and motivated her to work with her community.