Flor Marquez
- Senior Attorney
Practice Areas
- Immigration
LGBTQ+ Advocacy
Humanitarian Protection
Biography
Flor Marquez is a nationally recognized attorney known for her groundbreaking work at the intersection of immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, and racial justice. Her career reflects a deep commitment to advancing the dignity, safety, and inclusion of marginalized communities, particularly immigrants and asylum seekers who face overlapping systems of discrimination.
Flor earned a Bachelor of Arts in Labor Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Rutgers University in 1997, followed by her Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School in 2000. She later completed an LLM in U.S. Legal Studies at Golden Gate University School of Law in 2025, strengthening her expertise in complex immigration and humanitarian law.
Her career in immigration advocacy began immediately after law school when she was awarded a prestigious Skadden Fellowship. Through this fellowship, Flor created and led a legal project at Mothers on the Move (MOM) in the South Bronx, representing immigrant families—primarily women of color—facing housing insecurity. She defended tenants from unlawful evictions and organized collective tenant actions, integrating direct legal services with community mobilization, a model that would continue to shape her work.
Flor later received the Soros Justice Fellowship, which she used to found and direct Esperanza del Barrio, a project serving immigrant street vendors in East Harlem. She advocated through litigation and legislative reform, helping secure a New York City law allowing the use of Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) for vendor licensure. This milestone decriminalized the livelihoods of thousands of undocumented workers and demonstrated Flor's capacity to pair grassroots advocacy with strategic legal reform.
In 2007, Flor joined Lambda Legal, where she worked on cases involving LGBTQ+ youth in foster care and other out-of-home settings, many of whom were undocumented or faced immigration-related instability. Her advocacy centered on ensuring access to fair treatment, safe housing, and healthcare for youth navigating intersecting legal and systemic barriers.
Flor's commitment to immigrant justice expanded further when she joined the Transgender Law Center (TLC) in California in 2015. As the Detention Project Director and later as Legal Director, she led national efforts on behalf of detained transgender asylum seekers. She built and coordinated a network of advocates, attorneys, and formerly detained LGBTQ+ migrants to challenge abuses in ICE custody and push for systemic improvements.
As Legal Director, Flor co-led the landmark case Quine v. Brown, which challenged the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's denial of medically necessary treatment to a transgender inmate. The case produced a precedent-setting settlement mandating statewide access to gender-affirming healthcare in detention facilities, influencing standards for humane treatment of transgender individuals in both criminal and immigration custody nationwide.
From 2018 to 2024, Flor served as a Partner at Salgado, Peralta & Bermudez, P.A., a leading immigration law firm. She represented hundreds of low-income immigrants before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Her work included complex asylum claims, cases involving criminal convictions, motions to reopen, and humanitarian relief such as U visas, T visas, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. She earned a reputation for her litigation skill and for crafting equitable relief strategies for clients facing otherwise unavoidable deportation.
Throughout her career, Flor Marquez has demonstrated that dignity, safety, and due process belong to every immigrant, regardless of gender identity, status, or prior contact with the criminal system. Her work continues to embody the transformative potential of combining legal strategy with community advocacy to protect those too often excluded from justice.
Education
- Golden Gate University School of Law
LLM, U.S. Legal Studies (2025) - Rutgers Law School
Juris Doctor (2000) - Rutgers University
Bachelor of Arts, Labor Studies (1997)
Bachelor of Science, Chemistry (1997)
Bar Admissions
- State of New York