Yolanda Guerra was born New York, but grew up in Miami, where she graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelors in Mathematics Education. After teaching mathematics for nine years, she got a full scholarship to Hofstra University School of Law, which brought her back to New York. Yolanda began her legal career as a public defender in Long Island, where she juggled a high-volume practice with extensive litigation. Although she enjoyed practicing criminal law, she had a greater passion for immigration law and working with immigrants, and became well-versed in the immigration consequences of criminal convictions.
Yolanda’s passion for immigration law was realized when she accepted a position with the Family and Immigration Law Unit at Manhattan Legal Services. There she became an expert in removal defense as well as affirmative cases such as VAWA, U and T nonimmigrant visas, family petitions and consular processing, battered spouse waivers, asylum, SIJS, and naturalizations. Within five years, Ella Yolanda was promoted and became their first Deputy Director of Immigration. In her new role, she conducted Know-Your-Rights and Immigration clinics at various New York City schools, hospitals and community organizations, often in conjunction with the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.
After practicing in New York for twelve years, Yolanda felt it was time to come back home to Miami. In October 2023, she joined The Matian Firm’s Immigration Practice, where she has appeared remotely in the courts of California, Illinois, and Texas. Yolanda is the firm’s Bonds/Parole attorney and she is using her extensive experience in both criminal and immigration law to zealously advocate for detainees all over the country.