Hiroko Kusuda
Clinical Professor
Education
J.D., Tulane University, 1993
B.A., Tsuda College, 1985
Departments
- College of Law
- Law
Expertise
- Immigration Law
Bio
Hiroko Kusuda is Clinic Professor and Director of Immigration Law Section of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Center for Social Justice. Under her supervision, student practitioners represent clients before the U.S. Department of Justice Immigration Courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and federal courts. Professor Kusuda also trains her students to engage in administrative advocacy with federal and state agencies for their clients. Prior to joining Loyola, Professor Kusuda represented detained immigrants in Louisiana as a Detention Attorney of Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). During her tenure at CLINIC, she represented hundreds of detained immigrants before the Oakdale Immigration Court and conducted the Know Your Rights immigration program at Louisiana detention centers. She also managed CLINIC’s Louisiana Deportation and Detention Representation Project, providing technical assistance to Catholic diocesan immigration programs in the Gulf South created after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
A long-time member of American Immigration Lawyers Association and mentor on removal defense and asylum law, Professor Kusuda co-founded the Louisiana Immigrant Representation Working Group which consists of private, non-profit, and government attorneys and the members of the judiciary with a goal to increase legal representation of immigrants in Louisiana.
Professor Kusuda is a member of Louisiana State Bar Association, and is admitted to practice before all Louisiana courts, U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western District of Louisiana, U.S. Fifth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and U.S. Supreme Court. Professor Kusuda received Gillis Long Poverty Law Center’s Public Service Award in 2014, Elmer Fried Excellence in Teaching Award from American Immigration Lawyers Association in 2016, and the NGO Attorney of the Year Award from the Federal Bar Association's Immigration Law Section in 2022. Professor Kusuda currently serves on the Boards of Center for Migration Studies, Federal Bar Association Immigration Law Section, and Jesuit Refugee Service USA. She was also selected to serve on the Federal Court Litigation Steering Committee of American Immigration Lawyers Association for the 2023-2024 term.