Founder & Managing Attorney

 

 

Stephanie Marie Duque Isern is the Founder and Managing Attorney of Duque Isern Law. The daughter of Cuban and Colombian immigrants, Stephanie’s experience growing up as a first-generation American helped shape her deep appreciation for the immigrant experience and sparked her lifelong passion for immigration advocacy and human rights. That personal connection has remained a driving force throughout her legal career and continues to inform her commitment to protecting the rights of individuals and families navigating the immigration system.

 

 

Stephanie earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Communications from William Paterson University of New Jersey in 2008. During her undergraduate studies, she pursued an independent study examining human rights abuses in Argentina and subsequent developments in international law while studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Montevideo, Uruguay. She later interned with the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ) and Open Society Justice Initiative.

 

She earned her Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University School of Law in 2012. During law school, Stephanie represented clients through the Center for Social Justice’s Immigrants’ Rights and International Human Rights Clinic, earning the Outstanding Clinical Practitioner Award for her work.

 

 

With more than 13 years of experience practicing law in New Jersey, Stephanie has developed a broad immigration practice representing individuals and families before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Her experience extends in courts across the country.

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Her practice encompasses complex immigration litigation, detained immigration cases, bond proceedings, federal habeas corpus petitions, and challenges to immigration detention. She is particularly committed to advocating for individuals whose liberty and ability to remain with their families are at stake, approaching each case with thoughtful strategy, determination, and a dedication to protecting her clients’ rights.

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Under Stephanie’s leadership, Duque Isern Law embraces an innovative and forward-thinking approach to legal representation. Recognizing that immigration law is constantly evolving alongside changes in federal policy, enforcement priorities, and the political landscape, the firm continually adapts its strategies to meet the challenges of the times. Stephanie is committed to exploring creative legal approaches, identifying new avenues for relief, and developing strategic solutions tailored to an ever-changing immigration environment.

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Stephanie is admitted to practice law in New Jersey and New York, as well as before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. She is fluent in English and Spanish.