Lopez & Freshwater PLLC, is an immigration law firm dedicated to providing for the legal needs of immigrant families. We are passionate about protecting immigrants’ rights, and believe strongly that all immigrants deserve to have an attorney who will really listen to their concerns and will offer honest and effective legal advice and representation. Whether you need assistance applying for Citizenship, defending a loved one facing deportation, or petitioning for a family member to obtain permanent resident status, our attorneys will be with you every step of the way.


I have been an attorney and partner with Lopez & Freshwater, PLLC, since 2011. Our law firm provides a full range of legal advice and representation to immigrants. I am passionate about protecting immigrants’ rights and committed to providing effective legal representation in a wide range of immigration matters, from helping people apply for U.S. citizenship to defending immigrants facing deportation and separation from their loved ones. My practice areas include: family-based visa petitions, naturalization and citizenship, deportation and removal defense, appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, asylum, special immigrant juvenile status, waivers, Violence Against Women Act and U visa cases for victims of crimes, and deferred action cases.

Prior to opening Lopez & Freshwater, PLLC, I completed an Equal Justice Works Fellowship with a Dallas area non-profit organization. This fellowship program expanded the legal services already offered by the organization by creating a new legal representation and advocacy program to serve the increasing number of immigrants in North Texas being detained by Immigration & Customs Enforcement.

I graduated summa cum laude from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2006, where I was a Notes Editor for the Virginia Law Review, and a participant in the Immigration Law Clinic. From 2006-2007, I clerked for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.



 

  • COVID-19: Disparate Employment Effects and Immigration Impact on the Hispanic Community, Continuing Legal Education Presentation at the Annual Meeting – State Bar of Texas, Hispanic Issues Section (2020)
  • Representing Central American Asylum Seekers, Training and Mock Trial for Pro Bono Attorneys, Catholic Charities (2019)
  • New Developments in Federal Policy Toward Domestic Violence Asylum Seekers, Continuing Legal Education Presentation at the Conference on Crimes Against Women (2019)
  • Legal Remedies as a Response to the Border Crisis, Continuing Legal Education Presentation with Human Rights Initiative, Catholic Charities, RAICES, and the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association (2018)
  • Immigration 101: Family-Based Immigration, U and T visas, VAWA, Special Immigrant Juvenile Visas, and Asylum, Continuing Legal Education Presentation at Conference on Crimes Against Women (2018)
  • Protecting Your Undocumented Client: Immigration Options, Recent Changes in Immigration Enforcement, and Strategies for Protecting Immigrant Victims of Crime, Continuing Legal Education Presentation at Conference on Crimes Against Women (2018)
  • Best Practices for Representing Non-Citizen Clients, Continuing Legal Education Presentation to the Criminal Law Section of the Dallas Bar Association (2018)
  • President Trump’s Executive Orders, Continuing Legal Education Presentation at the Dallas Bar Association (2017)
  • Understanding the Notice to Appear in Immigration Court, Continuing Legal Education Presentation at the Dallas Bar Association (2017)
  • Representing Unaccompanied Immigrant Children: Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, Continuing Legal Education Presentation at the Dallas Bar Association (2017)
  • Immigration Q&A: Recent Changes in Interior Immigration Enforcement, Continuing Legal Education Presentation at Conference on Crimes Against Women (2017)
  • Asylum Law, Protecting Women Fleeing Violence in Their Home Countries, Continuing Legal Education Presentation at Conference on Crimes Against Women (2017)
  • Legal Clinic for Immigrant Children, Presentation for the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association (2016)
  • Introduction and Updates to Immigration Relief for Immigrant Children and Families, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, Continuing Legal Education Presentation at the Dallas Bar Association (2016)
  • Representing Immigrant Survivors of Domestic Violence and Other Crimes, Continuing Legal Education Presentation at the Conference on Crimes Against Women (2015, 2016)
  • Representing Immigrant Survivors of Domestic Violence and Other Crimes, Continuing Legal Education Presentation at the Latinos Against Domestic Violence Conference (2015)
  • Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions: An Overview, Continuing Legal Education Presentation at the Dallas Bar Association (2015)
  • Deferred Action for Parents of U.S. Citizens, Presentation at Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support (2015)
  • Immigrants: Know Your Rights, Presentation at Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support (2015)
  • Immigration Law After the Demise of DOMA, Continuing Legal Education Presentation at the Dallas Bar Association (2014)
  • Representing Non-Citizen Clients After Padilla v. Kentucky, Continuing Legal Education Presentations at the Dallas Bar Association and the Denton County Criminal Bar Association (2013)
  • Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Presentations at St. Michaels Catholic Church, St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, and All Saints Catholic Church (2012)
  • Immigrants: Know Your Rights, Presentation at Comunidade Crista Brasileira de Lewisville (2011)
  • Representing Immigrants in Removal Proceedings, Continuing Legal Education Presentation for Volunteer Attorneys (2010)
  • Immigration Law and Crimes: Defenses to Removal, Speaker at Continuing Legal Education Presentation organized by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (2010)
  • Applying for Asylum in Immigration Court, Continuing Legal Education Presentation for the Dallas Bar Association Pro Bono Attorney Program (2010)

  • D Magazine, Best Lawyers in Dallas (2018-20)
  • Superlawyers (2019-20)
  • Dallas Hispanic Bar Association, Estrella Award (2017)
  • Super Lawyers, Texas Rising Stars 2018: Immigration Law
  • Super Lawyers, Texas Rising Stars 2017: Immigration Law
  • Super Lawyers, Texas Rising Stars 2016: Immigration Law
  • Super Lawyers, Texas Rising Stars 2015: Immigration Law
  • Super Lawyers, Texas Rising Stars 2014: Immigration Law

  • Human Rights Initiative of North Texas, Board Member (2018-20)
  • Dallas Hispanic Bar Association, Board Member (2018-19)
  • Dallas Hispanic Bar Association, Co-Chair of Unaccompanied Minors Action Committee (2015, 2016, 2017)
  • Dallas Hispanic Bar Association, Immigration Committee Chair (2020)
  • American Immigration Lawyers’ Association (2009-present)

Jiroko Lopez
Fluent in Spanish and English.

My name is Jiroko Lopez and I focus my law practice on immigration cases. I represent immigrants applying for status with USCIS, immigrants who are in removal proceedings before the Dallas Immigration Court, and immigrants seeking stays of their removal orders before Immigration Customs Enforcement.

My passion for immigration began when I was an undergraduate at Southern Methodist University. The university hired me to interview immigrants in the DFW area as part of an anthropological study. Through the interviews I learned about the inequality and poor working conditions that immigrants suffered. I listened to stories describing the hardships that immigrants endured in order to seek better opportunities in the United States. This experience propelled me to become an attorney and advocate for immigrants and their rights.

My goal is to help immigrants and their loved ones understand the complicated immigration laws in the U.S. I enjoy working with the local community to empower and legalize undocumented persons who are eligible for legal status. In 2013 I began a radio program called: Una Hora de Inmigracion con la Abogada Lopez. The program focuses on one aspect of immigration law each week so as to educate the immigrant community. I also give weekly presentations at the Mexican Consulate in Dallas, Texas. I cover topics such as visas for victims of crime, the current immigration law reform effort, ways to protect against Notary Public fraud and how to properly pick an attorney.



  • 8th Annual Collin County Bar Association Law Practice Management Panelist (January 2017)
  • Our Lady of Sorrows Basics of Immigration Law Presentation (October 2016)
  • Immigrant Labor Rights Presentation at the Mexican Consulate in Dallas (August 2016)
  • Continuing Legal Education: Advanced Citizenship Issues (July 2016)
  • Radio Catolica Cristo Rey Yearly Radio Celebration: Basics of Immigration Law (March 2016)
  • Continuing Legal Education Presenter at Representing Unaccompanied Children and Families in Immigration Court and before US Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Relief in Immigration Court for Children and Families (2015)
  • Presenter to the Denton Christian Preschool: Little Known Immigration Paths Towards Residency and Updates on President Obama’s Immigration Policies (2015)
  • Panelist at the University of North Texas Latino/Mexican American Studies Conference (2015)
  • World Affairs Council: Beyond the Border: A Conversation on Youth Immigration to the U.S. (September 2014)
  • Weekly Presentations at El Consulado General de Mexico en Dallas (2014)
  • Presenter: Immigration Law 101, Genesis Women’s Shelter (2014)
  • Immigration Law After the Demise of DOMA, Continuing Legal Education Presentation at the Dallas Bar Association (2014)
  • Representing Non-Citizen Clients After Padilla v. Kentucky, Continuing Legal Education Presentations at the Dallas Bar Association and Denton County Criminal Bar Association (2013)
  • Presenter: Overview of Immigration Options for Young People, Texas Juvenile Justice Department, Dallas, Texas, (2013)
  • Presenter: Overview of Immigration Options for Young People, Calhoun Middle School Denton, Texas (2013)
  • Presenter: Know Your Rights, Neem Gospel Church, Richardson, Texas (2013)
  • Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Presentations at St. Michaels Catholic Church, St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, and All Saints Catholic Church (2012)
  • Immigrants: Know Your Rights, Presentation at Comunidade Crista Brasileira de Lewisville (2011)
  • Immigrants: Know Your Rights, Presentation at Barron Elementary Evening ESL Program and Forman Elementary School PTA Meeting and Daytime ESL Program, Plano, Texas (2012)

  • Dallas Bar Association Law Student Professionalism Program Panelist (January 2017)
  • Volunteer at Mock Trial Competition for Dallas Bar Association (January 2017)
  • Co-chaired the Youth Law Symposium for the Dallas Bar Association (2017)
  • Volunteer Attorney at the Special Immigrant Juvenile Clinic at Human Rights Initiative (August 2016)
  • Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions: SMU Criminal Justice Clinic (March 2016)
  • Citizenship Clinic at the Mexican Consulate in Dallas (March 2016)
  • Speaker for Career Day at Greiner Arts Academy (May 2016)

  • D Magazine: Best Immigration Lawyer 2018
  • D Magazine: Best Immigration Lawyer 2017
  • Dallas Hispanic Bar Organization: 2017 Rising Star Leadership Award

  • State Bar of Texas
  • America Immigration Lawyers Association
  • Dallas Bar Association: Immigration Law Section
  • Dallas Bar Association
  • Dallas Hispanic Bar Association, Committee Co-Chair
  • Dallas Young Lawyers Association
  • St. Thomas Moore Society