LOS ANGELES, CA – The Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law is thrilled to welcome Sandra Hernandez as the new Director of Strategic Communications. Sandra has spent more than two decades in media, most recently as vice president of communications and media at MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund).

Sandra joins CILP’s leadership team alongside Faculty Co-Directors Ahilan Arulanantham and Hiroshi Motomura, and Deputy Director Talia Inlender. 

“Sandra brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our Center. Her extensive background as a journalist and communicator will be vital to advancing our mission to educate the public and move policymakers toward rational, evidence-based immigration policy”, said Ahilan Arulanantham, Faculty Co-Director at the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law. 

“We’re very fortunate that Sandra is joining us, especially at a moment when fair immigration policy requires communicating legal and policy analysis to many different audiences.”, said Hiroshi Motomura, Faculty Co-Director at the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law. “Sandra’s vast experience, expertise, and wisdom are uniquely valuable as CILP works for meaningful change.”

“Now more than ever, the Center’s ability to defend immigrants’ rights and advance innovative policies depends on shifting the national conversation on immigration,” said Talia Inlender, Deputy Director at the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law. “Sandra’s expertise at the intersection of communications and immigration will allow us to do just that. We’re excited to welcome her to our team.”

“I look forward to working with CILP’s team as they continue to generate innovative ideas that are helping reshape the conversation around immigration law and policy,” said Sandra Hernandez, Director of Strategic Communications at the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law. 

Sandra is a veteran journalist. Her reporting helped secure the release of a U.S. citizen wrongly detained in federal immigration custody. She exposed a covert federal program to illegally sedate and deport immigrants, and poignantly captured the agonizing last days of a detained transgender immigrant who was denied medical care and forced to die while chained to a bed. As an editorial writer at The Los Angeles Times, she wrote about immigration and criminal justice. Sandra was born in Colombia and raised in Southern California. She is a graduate of UCLA and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. 

Sandra will be the primary media contact for CILP going forward. You can find her full bio here. 

About UCLA CILP:

Founded in 2020, the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law expands the law school's role as a national leader in immigration law and policy, generating innovative ideas at the intersection of immigration scholarship and practice and serving as a hub for transforming those ideas into meaningful changes in immigration policy. 

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