Rooha Hagharmehdiabadi

Rooha Hagharmehdiabadi (B.A. 2021, University of Texas; J.D. expected 2026) will be interning this summer at American Gateways in Austin, Texas. American Gateways provides trauma-informed legal representation to low-income immigrant communities in Texas. Rooha will provide legal representation to detained asylees and those undergoing deportation proceedings.

At Texas Law, Rooha has participated in the Mithoff Pro Bono Program’s FERM Asylum Interview Project. In the fall, she will be joining the Immigration Clinic and serving as co-president of Texas Middle Eastern and North African Law Students’ Association as well as on the board of Law Students for Black Lives as Co-Director of Events. Rooha will also serve as a Pro Bono Scholar, organizing immigration related pro-bono projects for the student body at large. Rooha is passionate about advancing immigrants’ rights, informed by her own background as an Iranian refugee.

Before arriving at Texas Law, Rooha worked with the Afghan Parolee population in Dallas as a Legal Support Specialist for Refugee Services of Texas. As an undergraduate, Rooha completed a capstone on the persecuted Baha’i community in Iran, shedding light on the failures of international human rights mechanisms in advancing justice for that religious minority. Her capstone was later published in the Spring 2022 publication of Columbia Undergraduate Law Review. Rooha plans to pursue a career in immigration and human rights law upon graduation.