Lizbeth Mateo has been an immigrant rights organizer for over 10 years, and currently runs an immigration and worker’s compensation legal practice in Los Angeles, California. Born in a Zapotec community in Oaxaca (wahaca), Mexico, Lizbeth became one of the first undocumented young people to risk deportation to demand passage of the Dream Act, when she was arrested in 2010 during a sit-in inside the office of Senator John McCain. In 2013, a few weeks before starting law school, Lizbeth and two other organizers traveled to Mexico and returned with six previously deported youth; all 9 successfully returned home to the U.S. after spending 17 days in an Arizona detention center. The first in her family to graduate from college, Lizbeth earned her J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law in 2016 and got sworn in as an attorney in June 2017 by then Senate President Pro-Tem Kevin the Leon.

Despite meeting the requirements for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the Obama Administration denied Lizbeth’s DACA application 8 days before Donald Trump’s inauguration. As an attorney and owner of the Law Office of Lizbeth Mateo, Lizbeth has helped many immigrants like herself apply for DACA, work permits, and to become legal permanent residents and citizens. She has also represented immigrants who are detained or living in sanctuary.