Trina Realmuto, Executive Director
trina@immigrationlitigation.org / 617.819.4447
With over twenty years of experience in immigration, damages, and transparency litigation in federal courts, Trina has litigated and argued several precedent decisions on behalf of individuals, classes, and amicus curiae, written numerous practice advisories, and is a frequent presenter on immigration issues. Most recently, Trina was a Directing Attorney of Litigation at the American Immigration Council. Prior to that, she served as the Litigation Director of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild and as a consulting attorney to the Council. In addition, she has worked abroad representing noncitizens applying for visas at U.S. embassies and consulates. Trina began her career as an associate attorney at Van Der Hout LLC, a San Francisco-based immigration firm where she specialized in federal court litigation and deportation defense. In 2015, Trina was awarded the Jack Wasserman Memorial Award for Excellence in Litigation by the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
State Court Admissions
New York and California
Federal Court Admissions
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Courts of Appeals: First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and DC Circuits
U.S. District Courts: Eastern, Southern, and Northern Districts of New York; Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Central Districts of California; District of Vermont; District of Connecticut
Mary Kenney, Deputy Director
mary@immigrationlitigation.org / 617.819.4681
For twenty-five years, Mary has worked to protect the rights of noncitizens, combat abusive conduct by immigration agents, and overturn unlawful policies of the immigration agencies. From 2003 to 2020, Mary was with the American Immigration Council, most recently as Directing Attorney of Litigation, where she engaged in impact litigation and authored numerous practice advisories. Prior to joining the Council, Mary was the Executive Director of a statewide immigrant and refugee rights litigation project in Texas. In that role, she oversaw impact litigation, including several class actions, and advocacy efforts. She also worked as a legal services attorney in West Virginia. In 2014, Mary was awarded the Carol King Award by the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild for her impact litigation work. In 2021, the American Immigration Lawyers Association awarded Mary the Jack Wasserman Memorial Award for Excellence in Litigation.
State Court Admission
District of Columbia
Federal Court Admissions
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Courts of Appeals: Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits
U.S. District Courts: District of Columbia, Northern District of Texas, Northern District of West Virginia
Kristin Macleod-Ball, Senior Staff Attorney
kristin@immigrationlitigation.org / 617.506.3646
Kristin’s career has been dedicated to defending the due process and statutory rights of immigrants. Prior to joining NILA, Kristin was a staff attorney at the American Immigration Council (AIC) for four years, where she co-counseled class actions, wrote amicus briefs for numerous courts of appeals, including in precedent setting cases, and authored practice advisories. She also was a litigation attorney with the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, where she focused on federal court litigation to promote the due process rights of people facing deportation. Kristin began her career as a legal fellow at AIC.
State Court Admission
New York
Federal Court Admissions
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Courts of Appeals: First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and DC Circuits
U.S. District Courts: Eastern, Southern, and Northern Districts of New York; District of Vermont
Chris Rickerd, Special Projects Advisor
chris@immigrationlitigation.org
Chris is a border and immigration-policy consultant based in Brownsville, Texas. He was senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Political Advocacy Department, responsible for administrative and legislative advocacy on border and immigration issues from 2012 to 2019. Prior to joining the ACLU, he spent seven years at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco as a law clerk and staff attorney and then worked for the Miami law firm of Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli and Pratt.
National Immigration Litigation Alliance, Inc.
Email: info@immigrationlitigation.org
Tel: (617) 819-4649