Francisco manages the Immigration Defense Unit at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, which provides deportation defense for people trapped in immigration detention. Hired as the office’s first dedicated immigration lawyer, he is an expert in deportation defense and the intersection of immigration and criminal law. He’s handled over two hundred removal cases in immigration court. In 2018, he was named co-Public Defender of the Year for his work securing the acquittal of Jose Ines Garcia Zarate on trumped-up murder charges. He was co-counsel in the case Zepeda-Rivas v. Jennings, a pandemic lawsuit which has led to significant depopulation of two ICE detention centers, while creating strong health and safety protections in those facilities. Previously, Francisco worked at Dolores Street Community Services, where he launched the city’s first rapid-response deportation defense program to assist victims of immigration workplace and home raids. A trained organizer, he believes the most impactful work is the result of collaboration.
Francisco is constantly learning from his superstar clients, co-workers, and community partners. He’s also a dad, husband, basketball fan, and, time permitting, enjoys paddling out on his surfboard.