The grandson of refugees, Etan (he/him) believes that a society is measured by the way it welcomes newcomers.

Etan joined Pangea in October 2016.  Etan became involved in immigrant rights work after visiting Postville, Iowa in the aftermath of a devastating immigration enforcement raid. He committed himself to becoming an advocate and partner with immigrant communities in their struggle to achieve recognition and justice. Before law school, Etan researched the barriers preventing immigrants from accessing public benefits and worked for Farmworker Justice in Washington, DC, where he advocated for policies that would support immigrant farmworkers. He also trained as a union organizer alongside immigrant workers in the food service and hospitality industries.

During law school, Etan defended immigrants in removal proceedings as part of NYU’s Immigrant Rights Clinic and Advanced Immigrant Rights Clinic. He argued a petition for habeas corpus challenging the mandatory detention of his client before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, securing the client’s release. He also represented asylum-seekers in immigration court in New York and Texas. During the summers, Etan worked at the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice and at the Urban Justice Center’s Community Development Project, where he learned the power of pairing legal strategies with community mobilization. 

Etan received an undergraduate degree in history from Brown University (’09), and a law degree from New York University School of Law (’15). After law school, he clerked for the Honorable William A. Fletcher on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Etan is licensed to practice law in California. He speaks English and Spanish.