2025 Asian American Hero: Sabrina Sameshima

Sabrina Sameshima is dedicated to uplifting marginalized voices and is a powerful advocate for immigrant justice, a path profoundly shaped by her personal and family history. Born and raised in Colorado, Sameshima comes from a mixed background – first-generation Korean American on her mother’s side and third-generation Japanese American on her father’s side. 

She was raised in a blue-collared, English speaking home, among the humming of Korean dramas, Motown music, and car engines. She remembers her diet consisting of a double carb load of Hamburger Helper with a side of rice, furikake, and kimchi. She now has a family of her own, with a wonderful partner and two children.

Sameshima’s heritage is a large part of her identity and is the foundation of her work with the immigrant community. Her grandfather, a Japanese American, was forcibly relocated from California and detained in a Colorado internment camp, Amache, during World War II. Meanwhile, her mother’s family navigated immense challenges migrating from North to South Korea, before making the difficult journey across the ocean for a better life.

These family narratives provided Sameshima with a profound understanding of the common roots shared with many immigrants seeking safety in the United States. 

She recognized that the forced detention experienced by her grandfather still exists within the current immigration system. Sameshima saw parallels with present day immigrants who come to the country unaware of its language and culture. Learning Spanish further solidified her connection, allowing her to see these historical patterns, making it impossible to look away.

Sameshima’s career journey led her to Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN), where she provided “know your rights” presentations to adults detained in immigration custody, an experience that propelled her to law school. Now, as an attorney in the RMIAN’s Children’s Program, Sameshima represents unaccompanied immigrant children and immigrant families seeking humanitarian relief.

This humanitarian work includes aid those in need of asylum, and immigration relief for survivors of certain crimes, including human trafficking. Her work is particularly vital today due to increased attacks on immigrants, disregard for due process, and inconsistent application of the rule of law.

Her colleague Marisol Solarte-Erlacher says: “Sabrina’s work exemplifies heroism in its truest form: consistently advocating for others, standing up against injustice, and working diligently to transform systems that marginalize immigrant communities.”

Being Japanese American offers a unique perspective, connecting Sameshima to historical patterns that seem to recycle themselves. She finds it haunting to see policies resembling the “A* Enemies Act” – previously used against her family – re-enacted, leading to the shameful weaponization of nationality and race to separate families. This recognition of repeated histories fuels her dedication.

She believes that “frequently we hear the refrain we must learn from our history. It is deeply saddening that we now must learn from repeated histories.” Through forming human connections and earning her clients’ trust, Sameshima embodies resilience and advocacy. 

Her dedicated legal expertise to vulnerable immigrant children and families empowers Sameshima to act for present-day justice – a true hero in the fight for immigrant rights.