Kica Matos

Kica Matos (born 1966 in Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican lawyer, community organizer, and immigrant rights advocate who identifies as Afro-boricua. She is the president of the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) and the Immigrant Justice Fund (IJF). She is also a Distinguished Practitioner at Yale University's Brady Johnson Program in Grand Strategy. In 2026, Matos was named to the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. The profile, written by activist Jess Morales Rocketto, cited Matos's decades of work on behalf of people on death row, working-class families, and immigrants, and noted her challenges to the Trump administration on issues including ICE agents wearing face coverings during enforcement operations and the rights of unaccompanied migrant children. Early life and education Matos was born in Puerto Rico in 1966 and grew up between Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Fiji Islands. She earned a B.A. from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, an M.A. in political science from The New School, and a J.D. from Cornell Law School. Career Early career Matos began her career in community organizing and human rights advocacy. She worked for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund for four years, organizing with Black communities in the American South. She then served as director of Immigrant Rights and Racial Justice at the Center for Community Change, where she coordinated the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, a national network of immigrant rights organizations.

National Immigration Law Center After serving as vice president of initiatives at the Vera Institute of Justice, Personal life Matos is married to Henry Fernandez, executive director of LEAP in New Haven. They have one son. Puffin Prize for Creative Citizenship (2024) Time 100 Most Influential People (2026)