Esmeralda Espinoza Castillo is a paralegal at Benach Collopy LLP where she assists the attorneys in preparing and filing petitions and applications in all of the firm’s practice areas.

Esmé is of Mexican descent and is inspired by her own family’s immigration journey. She is passionate about keeping families together and her interest and passion for immigration stems from her commitment to human rights and social justice. Esmé’s interests include Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) and Asylum. She aspires to become an Immigration Attorney.

Esmé is originally from Albany, Georgia and grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Esmé is a graduate of the University of Maryland where she earned her BA in American Studies with a minor in U.S. Latina/o Studies. During her time in undergrad, she became involved in education advocacy and instructed bilingual literacy workshops to parents with children in grades K-2 and mentored for America Reads. In addition to education advocacy, Esmé researched, programmed, and facilitated community events for the Latinx student body at her alma mater.

Esmé currently volunteers as a Citizenship Instructor at the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), helping Latinx elders master the civics portion of their citizenship interviews.

In addition to immigration, Esmé is also passionate about reproductive rights and justice. In her free time, she enjoys writing, cooking, watching documentaries, and spending time with close friends.  She also likes to spend time with her dogs, Gaspar and Melchior.