Abel Rodriguez

Abel Rodríguez is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Clinic for Asylum, Refugee, and Emigrant Services (CARES) at Villanova Law School. His scholarship, teaching, and advocacy focus on migrant justice. He is an expert and frequent speaker on immigration policy and the intersection of criminal and immigration law.

Prior to returning to teaching, Rodríguez held a split position as the immigration specialist at the Defender Association of Philadelphia and staff attorney at Nationalities Service Center, where he advised and represented noncitizen clients targeted by the criminal justice system. He also worked as the Langer, Grogan, and Diver Social Justice Fellow at Esperanza Immigration Legal Services, where he represented individuals with disabilities and older adults in their immigration matters. He has taught the immigration clinic at Temple University Law School and Spanish language at the University of Pennsylvania.

Rodríguez earned a Juris Doctor at the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Theological Studies at Harvard University, and a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies at Stanford University.