Our Legal Team
Lilah Thompson
Chief of Immigration
Lilah Thompson joined the Philadelphia Defenders Association in 2026 and is the Chief of Immigration in Community Defense Unit.
Lilah's role is split with the Pennsylvania Immigrant Family Unity Project (PAIFUP), Pennsylvania’s first publicly-funded defense counsel project for noncitizens in immigration detention.
Lilah represents clients pro bono in removal and bond proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the Board of Immigration Appeals. Lilah also works closely with community partners and attorneys throughout the United States towards the mission of providing universal representation to all noncitizens who are unable to afford counsel, and in support of a just immigration system that reflects the needs and lived experiences of those experiencing deportation and detention.
Prior to joining the Philadelphia Defenders Association, she worked at NSC as a Supervising Attorney for PAIFUP.
Lilah also worked for the U.S. Department of Justice as an Attorney Advisor at the New York and Philadelphia Immigration Courts. Lilah is a graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law and of Franklin & Marshall College. She is a member of the Pennsylvania bar and is Chair of the AILA Philadelphia Chapter EOIR Liaison committee. She is fluent in Spanish.
Christopher Setz-Kelly
Assistant Chief
Chris Setz-Kelly joined the Philadelphia Defenders Association in 2026 as the Assistant Chief in the Immigration, Community Defense Unit.
Chris's role is split with the Pennsylvania Immigrant Family Unity Project (PAIFUP) where he provides pro bono representation to individuals in removal and bond proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the Board of Immigration Appeals.
He was previously at HIAS Pennsylvania where he served as a Managing Attorney for the Asylum and Removal Defense Program. For years Chris has represented immigrant clients in the Philadelphia region. Chris regularly represents individuals in Immigration Court and has extensive experience in asylum law, federal court practice, and minimizing the immigration consequences of criminal convictions.
Chris also worked as an associate at the Gian-Grasso & Tomczak Immigration Law Group, where his practice focused on representing non-citizens in removal proceedings as well as in appeals before the Board of Immigration Appeals and federal courts. Before that, Chris was a staff attorney at Nationalities Service Center.
Maria Thomson
Immigration Attorney
Maria Thomson joined the Philadelphia Defenders Association in 2026 and works in the Immigration, Community Defense Unit. Where she serves as an immigration specialist to advise criminal attorneys and clients about the immigration consequences of criminal charges and assist in negotiating immigration-safe outcomes.
Maria’s role is split with the Pennsylvania Immigrant Family Unity Project (PAIFUP) where she provides pro bono representation to individuals in removal and bond proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Prior to joining the Philadelphia Defenders Association she was at NSC. Maria also provided universal representation to immigrants in removal proceedings as an Oregon Worker Relief Fellow at Innovation Law Lab.
Maria graduated from the Temple University Beasley School of Law and Temple University School of Social Work with a joint JD/MSW degree in 2022, and she completed her B.A. at Swarthmore College in 2014. Maria got her start in immigration advocacy in 2012 as a volunteer at Annunciation House, a migrant shelter in El Paso, TX, and she continues to serve the organization as a member of the Board of Directors. She is fluent in Spanish.
Mikaela Wolf-Sorokin
Immigration Attorney
Mikaela Wolf-Sorokin joined the Philadelphia Defenders Association in 2026 and works in the Immigration, Community Defense Unit.
Mikaela's role is split with the Pennsylvania Immigrant Family Unity Project (PAIFUP). she provides free legal representation to individuals detained in ICE custody in Pennsylvania who have ties to Delaware and Montgomery counties. Previously she was at NSC as a Skadden Fellow. She also works with community partners to expand resources for pro se post-conviction relief petitions for immigration-related due process violations.
Before law school, Mikaela worked at the Political Asylum and Immigration Representation (PAIR) Project in Boston, Massachusetts. Mikaela graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School in 2024. Along with NSC Senior Staff Attorney Whitney Viets and Clinic Professor Elizabeth Bradley, Mikaela is the co-author of the law review article, Padilla’s Broken Promise: Pennsylvania Case Study. This article analyzes crimmigration advising across 20 counties in Pennsylvania and provides recommendations to improve criminal defense representation of noncitizens in Pennsylvania. Mikaela speaks Spanish.
Andrea Solis Canto
Immigration Attorney
Andrea Solis Canto joined the Philadelphia Defenders Association in 2026 and works in the Immigration, Community Defense Unit.
Andrea's role is split with the Pennsylvania Immigrant Family Unity Project (PAIFUP) she provides free legal representation to detained and non-detained noncitizens in the greater Philadelphia area who are at imminent risk of deportation based on a prior removal order.
Previously at NSC as an Independence Foundation Fellow.
Before law school, Andrea worked as a Paralegal Advocate at the Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio in Cincinnati, Ohio. Andrea graduated from Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law in 2025. During law school, she worked in the Villanova Law Clinic for Asylum, Refugee & Emigrant Services (CARES) and she interned with Centro de Los Derechos del Migrante, the ACLU of Pennsylvania, American Immigration Council, and the Philadelphia Immigration Court. Andrea is a native Spanish speaker.
Joseby Jeannot
Paralegal
Joseby Jeannot is a paralegal at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, where she supports attorneys serving clients affected by the intersection of the criminal and immigration legal systems. Her work includes supporting the organization’s habeas corpus rapid-response efforts and advocating for individuals held in immigration detention centers.
Before joining the Defender Association, Joseby worked with the Pennsylvania Immigrant Family Unity Project at Nationalities Service Center and gained legal experience at the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.
Joseby earned a bachelor’s degree in Law and Justice with a minor in Psychology from Rowan University. Fluent in Haitian Creole, French and English, and proficient in Spanish, she is passionate about public defense, immigration advocacy and criminal justice reform.
Matthew P. Egler DiFerdinando
Immigration Attorney
Matthew P. Egler DiFerdinando, Esq. joined the Philadelphia Defenders Association in 2026 and works in the Immigration, Community Defense Unit.
Matt provides pro bono representation through the PAIFUP program to individuals in removal and custody proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, as well as in litigation before the Board of Immigration Appeals, United States District Courts, and United States Circuit Courts of Appeal.
Matt was previously a Staff Attorney at HIAS Pennsylvania and an Independence Foundation Public Interest Law Fellow.
Matt is a graduate of Boston College Law School and Loyola University Maryland. Matt is fluent in Spanish.
Carolina Fernandez
Immigration Attorney
Carolina Fernandez joined the Philadelphia Defenders Association in 2026 and works in the Immigration, Community Defense Unit.
Carolina’s role is split with the Pennsylvania Immigrant Family Unity Project (PAIFUP) where she provides pro bono representation to individuals in removal and bond proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Prior to joining the Philadelphia Defenders Association, she was at Brooklyn Defender Services as a removal defense Staff Attorney.
Carolina graduated from the Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2025, and she completed her B.A. at Oberlin College in 2019. Carolina got her start in immigration advocacy in 2019 as a paralegal at the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago working with unaccompanied minors. She is fluent in Spanish.
Julie Stavarski
Supervising Attorney
Julie Stavarski is a Supervising Attorney at HIAS Pennsylvania. Julie joined HIAS PA as an Immigrant Justice Corps fellow in 2023 with the asylum and removal defense team.
Julie provides free legal representation to detained and non-detained individuals in removal proceedings and with USCIS.
Before law school, Julie served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic and supported immigrants in Philadelphia as a mental health services Program Coordinator for TPAC/WHCI.
Julie received her J.D. from CUNY School of Law and has an undergraduate degree in Public Health from Temple University. While in law school, Julie served as a Co-Director of her school’s International Refugee Assistance Project chapter and was a student attorney with the Disability Rights and Social Justice Clinic. She gained experience in immigration law working with Church World Service Lancaster, Legal Services of New Jersey as a Deborah T. Poritz Public Interest Legal Fellow, and American Friends Service Committee in Newark. Julie speaks Spanish.
Marlee McCadden
Managaing Attorney
Marlee McCadden is the Managing Attorney of the Removal Defense Programs at the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center (PIRC).
Marlee regularly represents individuals in removal proceedings and has substantial experience in asylum law. Previously, she held roles as a clinical teaching fellow at the Villanova Law CARES Clinic, and as a removal defense & asylum staff attorney at HIAS PA.
Marlee received her J.D. From Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law and has an undergraduate degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Marlee speaks Spanish, and basic Portuguese.
Adriana Vukmanic
Staff Attorney
Adriana Vukmanic joined the Removal Defense Program at the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center (PIRC) in November 2024. In her role, she provides legal representation to individuals in removal proceedings through a variety of programs. She also conducts legal orientation presentations and individual consultations through the Legal Orientation Program (LOP).
Before joining PIRC, Adriana served as a federal judicial law clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. There, she assisted in drafting judicial opinions and conducting legal research in cases involving, habeas corpus, constitutional claims, and immigration law. She also worked as an Immigration Visa Specialist, preparing employment-based petitions and advising corporate clients on USCIS procedures. In addition, Adriana supports underserved families as a Family Advocate with LivingWell Institute, helping to support clients as they navigate services across various systems.
Adriana is fluent in Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian, and has limited working proficiency in Russian and elementary proficiency in Spanish. She earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Widener University Commonwealth Law School, where she served as Internal Supervising Editor of the Widener Law Review and received a Certificate in Administrative and Constitutional Law. She holds a B.A. in International Relations and Modern Languages and Literature as well as minors in Russian and Religious Studies from Lehigh University. She is admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar.
Sofia Kimball
Legal Fellow
Sofia Kimball joined the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center (PIRC) as a Legal Fellow in September 2025. Over the course of her fellowship, Sofia will provide pro bono representation to detained and non-detained clients in removal proceedings before the immigration court.
Sofia graduated from Stanford Law School in June 2025. Prior to law school, Sofia worked to support immigrants’ rights in both the legal and social services sectors in Colorado, Vermont, Texas, California, and Tanzania. Sofia speaks Spanish.
Yomayra Burgos
Coordinator
Yomayra is PAIFUP Coordinator for Removal Defense Programs at the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center (PIRC). Yomayra Burgos joined PIRC in March 2022.
Yomayra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography, Global Studies with minors in Latin@ Studies and Government and Political Affairs from Millersville University.
She previously served as an intern for Community Outreach on the Jess King for Congress campaign and volunteered with the Latin American Alliance by mentoring young women pursuing their higher educational goals through the Miss Hispanidad Scholarship Program. Yomayra is fluent in Spanish.
Working Group
Andrew Baranoski: Exective Director, Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center
Jasmine Rivera: Executive Director, Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition
Steven Larín: Deputy Director, Nationalities Service Center
Cathryn Miller-Wilson: Executive Director, HIAS Pennsylvania
Laura Perkins: Emergency Response Organizer, Casa San Jose
Emiliano Rodriguez: Regional Director, Unite Here!
Vanessa Stine: Immigrants' Right Attorney, ACLU of Pennsylvania