Jesse J. Bañuelos is very proud to have been born in an adobe hut in Las Moras, a small ranch in Zacatecas, Mexico, where he also spent his childhood. Las Moras is between Tlaltenango and Tepechitlán, towns that are about half a day, on foot, from Las Moras.

HIS FATHER TAUGHT HIM TO WORK BY TAKING HIM TO THE FIELD WHEN MR. BAÑUELOS WAS 5 YEARS OLD SO HE COULD LEARN TO TOIL THE LAND

When Mr. Bañuelos was five years old, his father started taking him to the field at the break of dawn during the planting season to help him plant corn. That’s how Mr. Bañuelos’ father taught him to work.

A YOUNG Woman Taught Him READING, WRITING, MATHEMATICS, AND INSTILLED IN HIM A GREAT LOVE FOR BOOKS AND STUDYING

No one went to school in Las Moras because there was no school. One day, Fernanda Dominguez, the most educated person in Las Moras, offered to give reading and writing classes in her house to any child whose parents wanted their children to learn. Many parents did not take their children to Fernanda’s house because they expected their children to grow up to be farmers or housewives. Therefore, they would not need to learn to read or write, those parents would say. Although Mr. Bañuelos did not want to go either because almost none of his friends were going to go, his mother insisted. Since Fernanda had a gift for teaching, in six months and with only a few hours of class per week, she taught Mr. Bañuelos reading, writing, math, and instilled in him a great love for books and for studying.

ALTHOUGH HE DIDN’T WANT TO COME TO THE U.S. BECAUSE HE FEARED HE’D NEVER LEARN ENGLISH, HIS PARENTS DIDN’T LEAVE HIM IN MEXICO BECAUSE THEY KNEW A FUTURE WAS WAITING FOR HIM

In time, his father brought the family to Tijuana where Mr. Bañuelos started attending a school, Escuela Primaria 16 de Septiembre, for the first time in his life. Two years later, his father brought the family to El Monte, CA, where he had already settled down. Mr. Bañuelos did not want to come to the U.S. because in American schools they speak a very strange language that he feared that he would never learn. However, his parents did not leave him in Mexico for family reasons and because they knew that a future was waiting for him in the U.S.

IN POTRERO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, IN EL MONTE, CA, A WISE AND NOBLE PROFESSOR WHO BELIEVED IN HIM, TAUGHT HIM THAT IF HE TRIED HIS BEST, HE COULD OVERCOME ANY OBSTACLE

When Mr. Bañuelos had been in the U.S. for two years and was set to graduate the 8th Grade at Potrero Elementary School, in El Monte, CA, Prof. Bennett, his favorite Professor, asked him to give the graduation speech in English and Spanish. Since his English was still poor and he feared speaking in public, he didn’t want to give them at all because he knew he’d make a fool of himself. Knowing of his fear, the Professor said: “I believe in you because you’re more capable than you know and if you do your best, you’ll overcome any obstacle” Since his parents didn’t have money for a suit for the speeches, the Professor bought it for him. After the speeches, his friends congratulated him for his speech in Spanish. When he asked them about his speech in English, they told him that because of his accent and his stutter, they did not understand it. “And the applause?”, he asked. “They applauded because you had the guts to get up on the stage knowing that you’re going to make a fool of yourself,” they said. In tears, he approached the Professor to apologize. The Professor said: “Well done!” Confused, Mr. Bañuelos said: “But I failed you.” The Professor smiled and said: “one day, what you did tonight will help you get very far.” 

WHEN MR. BAÑUELOS WAS STRUGGLING IN HIS LAW STUDIES WHAT HE LEARNED FROM THE PROFESSOR HELPED HIM TO OVERCOME THOSE OBSTACLES

In 1982, after graduating from the university, he began to study law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, something he never dared to dream that he’d ever do in Mexico, much less in the U.S. However, from the start of his studies, he felt like a fish out of water because many of his classmates were coming from money and the best universities in the U.S., while he was coming from very humble origins. To add to his grief, after reviewing his first assignments, his writing professor warned him that if he did not improve he’d have to find another career because he hadn’t shown he could learn to write like an attorney. She also warned him that if he didn’t raise his grades in the other classes that he was struggling in, he’d be expelled from Loyola. Since the Professor taught him to believe in himself and to overcome any obstacle, he knew that if he continued doing his best, he’d graduate. Over time, his writing improved so much that in his second year at Loyola, he was chosen as one of its thirty best writers, out of hundreds of candidates. [The certificate that he earned for writing can be seen by clicking here] He also graduated and earned a license as an attorney. [His license can be seen by clicking here]

MR. JESSE J. BAÑUELOS’ EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Administration from the California State University in Los Angeles;
• Received a law degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles in 1985;
• Licensed to practice law by the State of California in 1985;
• Admitted to practice law in the Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals;
• Admitted to practice law in the Federal Court of the Central District of California;
• Admitted to practice law in all the Federal Immigration Courts;
• Admitted to practice law before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA);
• Admitted to practice law before the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) for immigration cases;
• Principal Litigation Associate with Gutierrez & Gutierrez from 1985-1995; and
• Opened his own law offices in 1995, with emphasis on accident cases, such as auto accidents, truck/trailer accidents, pedestrian accidents, etc., and on immigration matters, including defense against deportation/removal, petitions for family-based green cards; for American citizenship; for waivers [forgiveness] of certain crimes, or for waivers of violations of the immigration laws, such as immigration fraud, unlawful presence in the U.S. on or after April 1, 1997, etc.