Rekha Sharma-Crawford becomes first South Asian AILA Secretary

A nationally recognized expert in immigration law, Sharma-Crawford has provided pro bono representation to thousands of clients

She was elected on June 22 in Orlando, Florida along with other new Executive Committee members, Kelli J. Stump as President-Elect, Jeff Joseph as First Vice President, Alexis S. Axelrad as Second Vice President, and Jacqueline Watson as Treasurer. Farshad Owji was installed as AILA’s President.

A partner in the Kansas City law firm Sharma-Crawford Attorneys-at-Law, Sharma-Crawford is a nationally recognized expert in immigration law, according to an AILA press release.

She regularly practices before the Federal Courts on cases involving affirmative immigration benefits and before the Courts of Appeals in several Circuits. In 2021, she received the AILA Edith Lowenstein Memorial Award, for excellence in advancing the practice of immigration law.

READ: H-1B crackdowns forcing aspirants to return home: Attorney Rekha Sharma-Crawford (January 16, 2019)

In 2018, the Kansas Bar Association honored Sharma-Crawford with the Courageous Attorney Award, “an award presented from time to time, to attorneys who have displayed exceptional courage in the face of adversity, thus bringing credit to the legal profession.”

In 2017, The Missouri Bar Association honored Sharma-Crawford and her law partner with its Pro Bono Publico Award. Along with having several critical published court decisions, Sharma-Crawford is also an author and speaker on issues involving immigration law and policy.

She has served as an Elected Director for the AILA Board of Governors for several years, and as a member of the Board for the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild since 2020.

In 2012, she co-founded a nonprofit law clinic to provide representation for indigent individuals facing removal in the Kansas City Immigration Court. The Clinic has helped thousands of clients and for nearly a decade, has provided much-needed low bono and pro bono representation.

Sharma-Crawford is also an Adjunct Professor teaching Immigration Law at the University of Kansas School of Law and Washburn University School of Law.

She is the author of her children’s book, ‘Aaliyah the Brave, Empowering Children Coping with Immigration Enforcement.’