FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2026
CONTACT
Lilly Gonzalez, media@nipnlg.org
Washington, DC — The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has named Rebecca Scholtz, Supervising Attorney at the National Immigration Project, as the recipient of the 2026 Edith Lowenstein Memorial Award, recognizing excellence in advancing the practice of immigration law.
Scholtz began her career providing direct legal representation to children and youth in the immigration system then pivoted to focusing on the intersection of training, legal support, and stakeholder coordination, developing infrastructure that enables attorneys nationwide to better represent their clients. Her work has been particularly vital in the area of Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) and issues impacting unaccompanied children, where she has built expertise over more than a decade through direct legal services, amicus briefing, practitioner training, legal resource and strategy development, and federal litigation. When Scholtz recently testified as an expert witness in the habeas case on behalf of a young man with an approved SIJS petition who was detained by ICE, the judge cited her testimony and expert report 45 times in his 57-page opinion ordering the young man’s release.
Her impact came into sharp focus this year during Operation Metro Surge and PARRIS, the largest immigration enforcement deployment in the country’s history, which swept through the Twin Cities beginning in late 2025. Scholtz, a Minneapolis resident, worked with local partners to establish the Minnesota Habeas Project, a pro bono effort connecting detained Minnesotans with attorneys who can challenge their detention regardless of where in the country they are transferred. Within weeks, she had trained more than 300 lawyers and supported more than 100 attorneys taking on complex habeas cases across multiple jurisdictions. She continues to be one of the leading forces behind the project along with the James H. Binger Center for New Americans at the University of Minnesota Law School and The Advocates for Human Rights.
“Rebecca has been my colleague for almost ten years, and she defies Voltaire's aphorism ‘Perfection is the enemy of the good’ by constantly holding herself to the highest of standards, all while efficiently delivering excellent and innovative work product,” said Michelle Mendez, Legal Director at the National Immigration Project. “In the serial crises since January 2025, her impact has been priceless. When the need for habeas petitions grew, she wasted no time. She just started building what everyone needed. Her work spans training, litigation, coalition coordination, mentorship, and more, and she does all to near perfection, year in and year out. That’s just who Rebecca is.”
Scholtz is also co-counsel in J.O.P. v. DHS, a class action lawsuit on behalf of more than 70,000 unaccompanied children challenging rollbacks to their asylum rights, and in A.C.R. v. Noem, a proposed class action lawsuit challenging the rescission of deferred action protections for approximately 200,000 SIJS-approved youth.
“Rebecca has been at the center of legal advocacy, capacity building, and litigation on tough immigration issues for the past decade, and she’s done it all while somehow also being the person everyone calls when they don’t know what to do next,” said Sirine Shebaya, executive director of the National Immigration Project. “She has led strategy on a number of critical issues, including most recently the detention of immigrant youth and the scaling of habeas representation in the face of mass enforcement in Minnesota. This award is a recognition of her, and it’s also a recognition of the kind of lawyering this moment demands.”
The Edith Lowenstein Memorial Award is presented annually in memory of Edith Lowenstein, a pioneering immigration attorney known for her commitment to the profession and to the people she served. The AILA awards will be presented at the annual conference June 17-20 in San Diego.
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The National Immigration Project is a membership organization of attorneys, advocates, and community members who believe that all people should be treated with dignity, live freely, and flourish. We litigate, advocate, educate, and build bridges across movements to ensure that those most impacted by the immigration and criminal systems are uplifted and supported. Learn more at nipnlg.org. Follow the National Immigration Project on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads at @NIPNLG.