Blaine Bookey

Activist, Change Agent, Educator/Teacher, Jewish, Lawyer, Potential employer

Blaine Bookey is a human rights attorney and expert on U.S. asylum law and policy. As Legal Director of the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, she works to advance protections for asylum seekers and address the underlying root causes of persecution that force individuals to flee. She is in the fight of her life right now, as the Trump Administration eviscerates asylum protection in the United States and throughout the region. Blaine represents a Salvadoran domestic violence survivor, Ms. A.B. whose case is at the heart of a debate about whether women like her deserve protection under U.S. refugee law. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions picked her case to overturn longstanding precedent holding she could receive protection here where her own government failed to control her abusive spouse who threatened to kill her. She is also counsel in other systemic lawsuits challenging the Administration's draconian policies, including prolonged detention of asylum seekers and forced return of asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims are heard. The Center is leading a nationwide public messaging campaign - Immigrant Women Too - to ensure safety and justice for immigrant women fleeing gender-based persecution that foregrounds their stories. In addition to her work with the Center, Blaine is an Adjunct Professor at UC Hastings School of Law where she teaches a course on human rights and rule of law in Haiti and partners with organizations in Haiti on those themes. She also Chairs the Board of Directors of MADRE, a global women's rights organization. Blaine has been recognized for her work with marginalized communities as the recipient of the David Carliner Public Interest Award. An Iowa native, she received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and JD from UC Hastings.

Human Rights, Immigration, Refugees, Women's Rights

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