Araceli Garcia
Scholar Criminal Law / Post-Conviction Immigration / International Human Rights
Class of 2024
"I am so grateful to have access to mentorship from such a diverse and dedicated group of public interest scholars through the Justice Center. I appreciate the many opportunities offered through the Justice Center to serve low-income and marginalized communities, and to work with my peers to add to those opportunities!"
Araceli Garcia works for the Atascosa Area Regional Public Defender Office, representing clients in several rural counties outside San Antonio, Texas.
At Texas Law, Araceli was an Immigration Pro Bono Scholar with the Mithoff Pro Bono Program, scholarship chair of the Chicano/Hispanic/Latino Law Students Association, a research assistant for the Justice Center on an initiative supporting public interest law students whose lived experiences intersect with the legal systems they seek to challenge in their careers, and board member of Texas Law Fellowships. As a 2L, she served as events director for Law Students for Black Lives. She was also a member of the Justice Center's student advisory board, the Public Defense Group, the Public Interest Law Association, and the Barbara Jordan Inn of Court. She participated in the Mithoff Pro Bono Program's parole packet project and served as a law student mentor through Texas Law's Pipeline Program.
Araceli participated in the Immigration Clinic, Criminal Defense Clinic, Civil Rights Clinic, and Juvenile Justice Clinic. She spent the summer after her 1L year working with the Southwest Regional Office of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) primarily on Texas redistricting litigation. The summer after her 2L year, she worked with the Southern Poverty Law Center's Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative in New Orleans providing Know-Your-Rights Presentations and pro se legal assistance to people detained in Louisiana.
Araceli graduated from Stanford University with a BA in Chicanx/Latinx Studies. As an undergraduate, she advocated for undocumented immigrant students‚ rights on campus and assisted immigrant families detained at the federal detention center in Karnes, Texas as an intern with RAICES. After college, she was awarded the John Gardner Fellowship for Public Service and partnered with the Intercultural Development Research Association in San Antonio, where she worked to ensure equitable educational opportunities for immigrant and emergent bilingual (English learner) students in Texas.