About Deborah Gonzalez, Esq.
An immigration attorney, legal educator, and public servant dedicated to guidance and access to justice
Deborah Gonzalez
is the owner and principal attorney of Gonzalez Law Offices, Inc., a Rhode Island-based firm dedicated to helping families and individuals navigate the intricacies of U.S. immigration law. As an immigrant herself and the daughter of Brazilian immigrants, Deborah brings a profound personal connection and cultural authenticity to her work, giving her a deep understanding of the unique challenges immigrant families face while remaining fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese to serve diverse communities across New England. The firm’s very foundations are rooted in this spirit of shared devotion; following her marriage to Roberto Gonzalez in 2005, the couple combined their mutual commitment to civil rights, education, and equal opportunity to co-found Gonzalez Law Offices in 2006. Today, while Roberto has since retired from active practice, the firm thrives under Deborah’s continued ownership and operational leadership, remaining firmly anchored to this foundational heritage and ensuring every client benefits from a legal legacy built entirely around dedicated public service.
Dedicated Advocacy in Private Practice
For nearly two decades, Deborah has focused her career on defending and representing clients before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, immigration courts, and federal courts. Her practice spans family-based petitions, lawful permanent residence, naturalization, DACA, waivers, asylum, and removal defense. Drawing on an extensive legal background that includes family law and criminal matters, she understands how intersecting legal challenges affect households and works tirelessly to protect the unity and stability of families.
Training the Next Generation of Legal Professionals
Deborah's authority extends directly into the academic world. She serves as a law professor and the Director of the Immigration Clinic at Roger Williams University School of Law. In this prestigious role, she supervises and mentors law students who represent indigent immigrants seeking lawful status or defending against removal. By teaching essential skills like client counseling, legal writing, trial preparation, and ethics, Deborah ensures that her commitment to thorough immigration education shapes the future of the legal field.
A Career Grounded in Community Support
True advocacy happens both inside and outside the courtroom. Deborah has spent years volunteering at the southern border, supervising law students at detention facilities in Texas and Georgia to assist detained mothers, children, and asylum seekers with critical legal requests. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she acted as lead counsel in federal habeas corpus impact litigation alongside the ACLU of Rhode Island, successfully securing the release of approximately forty vulnerable civil immigration detainees. She proudly serves on the Board of Directors of the ACLU of Rhode Island and works closely with community organizations to provide vital "Know Your Rights" public education.
Public Service & Professional Integrity
In May 2025, Deborah was sworn in as the Municipal Court Judge for the City of Central Falls, Rhode Island. Presiding over a high-volume docket that frequently involves self-represented individuals, she emphasizes fairness, respect, and helping everyday people understand the judicial process. This role reflects her overall career dedication to public service and procedural integrity. (Note: Please note that Judge Gonzalez's judicial role is a public service position and does not imply special influence or an unusual advantage regarding private immigration case outcomes.)
The Legacy of Roberto Gonzalez
The heritage of Gonzalez Law Offices is deeply intertwined with the pioneering career of Roberto Gonzalez. Long before the firm's inception, Roberto maintained a lifelong commitment to expanding access to higher education, championing equal opportunity, and building critical civic infrastructure for the Latino community throughout Rhode Island.
His extensive professional career at Rhode Island College featured impactful leadership as the head of the Educational Opportunity Center, an initiative dedicated to helping non-traditional and low-income students break through institutional barriers to secure higher education. Driven by a passion for structural change, Roberto extended his advocacy into municipal leadership, serving with distinction on the Providence School Committee and contributing his expertise to numerous influential statewide educational organizations. A visionary organizer, he played a central, foundational role in establishing and leading several of Rhode Island's earliest Hispanic educational, political, and civic institutions. Through these trailblazing efforts, Roberto solidified his place in state history as one of Rhode Island’s earliest Latino elected and appointed public officials.
After earning his law degree, Roberto channeled his advocacy directly into the courtroom. His versatile legal career focused on defending vulnerable individuals, masterfully representing clients across complex immigration, family, criminal defense, personal injury, workers' compensation, and Social Security disability matters. His judicial capabilities earned historic recognition when he was appointed as the first Hispanic Housing Court Judge in Rhode Island history, later elevated to serve as the Chief Housing Court Judge until 2006.
Though decorated with numerous prestigious civic awards and professional recognitions throughout his decades of service, Roberto's enduring legacy is preserved daily within the halls of Gonzalez Law Offices. He is not simply a retired attorney; he is the cornerstone of our firm's historical heritage. His legendary career continues to shape our firm's enduring dedication to public service, rigorous legal defense, and the protection of immigrant households.
