Efrén C. Olivares is the Deputy Legal Director of the Immigrant Justice Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, where he spearheaded a successful landmark petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on behalf of families separated under the Zero Tolerance policy. Before this, he led the Racial and Economic Justice Program at the Texas Civil Rights Project. His writings on immigration policy have been featured in prominent publications such as the New York Times, USA Today, and Newsweek. Olivares has also testified before Congress and at Capitol Hill briefings on immigration and border policies. His work representing separated families was highlighted in the CBS News documentary “The Faces of Family Separation,” released in October 2019. Additionally, he has appeared as an expert attorney on numerous TV and radio shows and was featured in John Legend’s “Can’t Just Preach” series.

As the first member of his family to attend college, Olivares graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Yale Law School.

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My Boy Will Die of Sorrow by Efrén C. Olivares

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My Boy Will Die of Sorrow | A Memoir of Immigration from the Front Lines by Efrén C. Olivares offers insight into the real-life toll of immigration and family separation. Olivares reflects on the immigrant experience then and now, on what separations do to families, and how the act of separation itself adds another layer to the immigrant identity.

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