Erika Basurto

Erika Basurto is motivated to promote equal access to justice after witnessing the various barriers to justice faced by her community. As a volunteer at Centro Legal De La Raza, where she interpreted for Spanish-speaking immigrants facing wage theft, she saw how income, language, and citizenship status limit access to justice. The disproportionate impact of these barriers on her community motivated her to provide legal assistance to low-income communities and communities of color. As a paralegal at various nonprofits, she assisted low-income communities of color in preventing evictions, obtaining asylum, and staying with family. Along with helping people navigate the legal system, she has also worked towards changes in law and policy. At the ACLU, she worked on class action lawsuits in the service of broader bail and indigent defense reform. A first-generation student of color, Erika is a 1L at UC Berkeley School of Law.