Who We Are

Léo Tucker

[Formerly Stephen Coger]

Executive Director

Stephen worked at a nonprofit law firm in Arkansas for years before serving abroad as a Fulbright Scholar. Stephen attended law school as a Gates Public Service Law Scholar and worked internationally on immigrant and refugee issues before returning home in 2015 to focus on immigration.

Frank Head

Advisor

Frank has worked on immigrant and refugee issues for nearly three decades, and he mentored Arkansas Immigrant Defense into existence. Frank retired as the director of Catholic Charities Immigration Services in Springdale, Arkansas. Thankfully, he continues to guide AID while helping us reach clients and find the necessary funding to represent them low bono and pro bono.

Andrea Provins

Survivor Attorney

Andrea has been serving clients at AID since her 2L internship. A University of Arkansas School of Law graduate, Andrea is now AID’s survivor attorney and specializes in U Visas, T Visas, VAWA, and Asylums. She is a zealous advocate for her clients. Outside of AID, Andrea enjoys reading, playing Dungeon's and Dragons, and traveling.

Silvia Tornay

Paralegal

Silvia Tornay has been a bilingual paralegal at AID since the beginning of 2021, and she became a Department of Justice Accredited Representative in October of 2023. An immigrant from Argentina herself, she loves connecting with clients through their stories and experiences. Some of her favorite moments since joining the AID team have been accompanying clients and interpreting for clients during their naturalization interviews and oath ceremonies.

Mayra Esquivel

Paralegal

Mayra Esquivel is lead paralegal at AID and is accredited by the Department of Justice to practice immigration law. She has been in the immigration law field since 2018 and graduated with a B.A. in psychology in 2016 from the University of Arkansas Fort Smith. Mayra has been an avid advocate for immigrant rights since 2012. She enjoys helping our clients navigate the complexities of the immigration system and learning new things. She is inspired every day by the resilience of our clients. She also has a special passion for mental health. Off the clock, Mayra enjoys spending time with her family, her husband, Irvin, dog Duke, and friends. She also loves to explore new places, read, and listen to spooky podcasts.

Lizbeth Hoyle

Legal Assistant

Lizbeth Hoyle is a Community Health Worker for the Office of Community Health and Research at UAMS Northwest has been embedded at Arkansas Immigrant Defense as their Bilingual Survivors Paralegal since April 2022.  Before joining AID, Lizbeth worked with clients on their immigration cases at a private law firm. She has worked on naturalization, SIJ, DACA and residency renewals, and asylum cases since joining AID. As a second generation immigrant, Lizbeth is passionate about helping those in her community. Lizbeth holds a Bachelors of the Arts degree with an emphasis in Rehabilitation Science and has submitted her application to become a DoJ Accredited Representative to further assist clients in the immigrant community.

Sebastià Llull Carmona

Paralegal

Sebastià Llull Carmona  was born in Mallorca, a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea. He studied law and worked as an attorney for eleven years in Spain where he opened his own law firm. He helped clients as a Public Defender, and worked on immigration cases in Spain. Now, he continues serving immigrant people as a paralegal at AID. He speaks English, Spanish, and Catalan. He loves spending time with his family, watching soccer, drinking coffee, and reading the newspaper.