Degrees

B.A., Tsuda College, 1985; J.D., Tulane University School of Law, 1993

Short Bio

Hiroko Kusuda is a Clinical Professor of Immigration Law Section of Loyola Law Clinic & Center for Social Justice. Ms. Kusuda assists student attorneys to gain essential skills in representing immigrants before the Immigration Courts, Board of Immigration Appeals, as well as in federal courts. Her student attorneys also learn how to be an effective advocate for immigrants before different federal immigration and local agencies.

Ms. Kusuda is also a Staff Attorney of Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), a subsidiary of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. In this capacity, she coordinates a state-wide detention project which includes direct representation of detained immigrants, "legal rights presentations" for detainees and local advocacy with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and other enforcement agencies. Ms. Kusuda also supports and assists immigration program staff of the Gulf Coast Immigration Project, a project created after Hurricane Katrina which is a collaborative effort among Catholic diocesan immigration programs in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Ms. Kusuda is a member of Louisiana State Bar Association and American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”). She has served on the Executive Board of AILA Midsouth Chapter since 2000. She currently serves as ICE liaison for the Midsouth Chapter of the AILA. Ms. Kusuda has been a frequent guest speaker on various immigration issues at seminars and conferences including AILA Annual Conference, Louisiana State Bar Association CLE on Immigration Law, Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Annual Conference, Federal Public Defender Association’s Annual Conference, Migration & Refugee Conference and CLINIC’s National Convening. Ms. Kusuda is a graduate of Tsuda College in Tokyo, Japan and Tulane University School of Law where she was a member of the Tulane Journal of International and Comparative Law.