It took over a decade for the family of Ray Feliz ’15 to emigrate and reunite in the United States—an odyssey that originated in the Dominican Republic and brought him to northern Virginia at age 3 with his mother. At 18 Feliz took a chance and moved to the Midwest to study and wrestle at Cornell College, where he found a mentor who encouraged him to apply to the University of Wisconsin Law School. Working as a law student volunteer in Madison, Feliz noticed a need for Latino immigration attorneys and made plans to open a law firm there with a classmate. Seven years later they have six offices in four states. Feliz’s community work recently resulted in a pro bono award from the Wisconsin State Bar, and the impact of his clients has positively affected communities throughout the nation.
What stands out about your Cornell experience?
Unique experiences from One Course At A Time to frozen sidewalks! It was a good time and fostered personal growth. I majored in economics and business with minors in Spanish and philosophy, and I had good professors. Professor of Economics and Business Santhi Hejeebu was my mentor. She’s a very tough professor, but she helped guide me. She recommended the University of Wisconsin Law School, which was in the top 25 law schools in the country. I took a chance and applied, and despite not wanting to remain in the Midwest, Madison and successful financial aid negotiations kept me around.
Why did you become an immigration attorney?
In short, I am a first-generation immigrant who achieved the American dream and became an immigration lawyer to help those in search of that dream. At UW Law School I was vice president of the Latino Law Student Association and I took part in the Community Immigration Law Center. We did intakes and answered questions about immigration law. And that’s where I saw the list of immigration attorneys in the area—the three who could speak Spanish and one Hispanic attorney. And I was like, supply and demand—I studied this at Cornell! I know what I’ve got to do here, so I started making some connections and partnered with Jairo Hernandez, a classmate. In my second-year tax class I approached him and informed him of the need for Latino attorneys in the area: “You want to be my right hand and expand globally?” By the time we graduated, I already had scheduled an initial consultation for our first day, which paid the bills for that month. We started in an office-sharing space downtown and have expanded to a main office in Madison, plus offices in various locations in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Houston, Texas; Orlando, Florida; Miami, Florida; and Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Do you have patriotic feelings about the U.S.?
Of course. That’s why I want to try to help other people become Americans, benefit from the privileges, and be able to add to the community, which is something my clients do substantially. At this point I’m reaching 4,000 cases, so we have made a significant impact in the community throughout the United States. I have many clients who are entrepreneurs, professionals, and families who have been successful with their petitions. We understand the system and process. We’ve been through it ourselves. Our connection to the community and the experiences we have lived through allow us to better connect with clients and get the results they need. That success has been able to grow communities and patriotic sentiment as people petition their families to come to the U.S., be able to obtain an education, become U.S. citizens, and start successful businesses in order to obtain the American dream.
In what ways are you involved in your community?
I’ve been vice president of the Wisconsin Latino Chamber of Commerce. This organization has programs to educate entrepreneurs, and as a part of that, I teach a course on Legal Considerations to Start a Business. I have also taught a course called Here for Business for the Wisconsin State Bar. In addition, I assist in legal intake clinics once a month with Centro Hispano, a large organization here in Madison. I also host a regular weekly show on Instagram, where I answer immigration and other legal questions posed by viewers.
What’s ahead for you?
For now I am focused on continuing to make the American dream possible for my clients, as well as taking care of my growing family and enjoying life as a snowbird. I hope to continue to help the Latino community grow, surpass the challenges to come with the new administration, and inspire others to step up and wrestle for that American dream. It’s still achievable and worth the sacrifices.
Feliz’s Instagram page offers immigration Q&A sessions every Tuesday.