Eagan Immigration: 10 Years Empowering and Defending the Immigrant Community

By Jasmine Noble

In honor of the 10th anniversary of Eagan Immigration, we had the opportunity to sit down with its founder and CEO, attorney Lauren Eagan. From its humble beginnings to becoming a global firm with a unique virtual structure, Eagan Immigration has remained committed to serving the immigrant community with compassion and dedication. In this exclusive interview, Lauren reflects on the key moments that have defined the firm, the challenges she has overcome as a female leader, and how her passion for justice continues to drive her vision for the future. Join us as we celebrate a decade of achievements and look ahead to the mission of empowering immigrants around the world.

Reflecting on the past ten years, what moment or achievement stands out to you as a defining point for the firm?

Hiring my first assistant, Juan, was a big turning point for me. I always thought I would do it all myself, but once I hired him, I realized how many more immigrants we could help as a team.

What inspired you to start Eagan Immigration, and how have your motivations evolved over the past decade?

I loved being an immigration lawyer, but I didn't like how the attorneys I worked for in the past ran their firms. I decided I wanted to do it my way and create a better environment?for myself, my clients, and, once I decided not to do it alone, my team.

As a CEO, wife, and mother how do you find your rhythm between your professional responsibilities and with your personal life?

From the very beginning, I set a lot of boundaries. For example, I almost never work nights or weekends, and created that rule before Ryan and I even got married and had kids. I knew that I wanted a healthy balance from the very beginning. I also make sure to prioritize my health by going to the gym, eating well, and doing things I enjoy (currently getting my pilot's license). Those things help me disconnect from work and parenting and focus on just being Lauren.

Eagan Immigration caters predominantly to the Hispanic community. Can you share a particularly impactful story or client experience that has stayed with you?

I remember a client who I had worked with for a couple of months on a U visa case. But I suspected she was being trafficked. She finally got up the courage to tell me during one of our appointments. Her son was in the lobby of our office with her trafficker. We created a plan for me to get her son back to my office by pretending I had a toy to give him. And then we immediately called security and had her trafficker removed from the building. We spent the rest of the afternoon contacting shelters and other organizations to get her to a safe location. I gave her my personal cell phone number, and over the next few weeks, I talked to her anytime she was having a hard time and thinking of returning to her trafficker. I'm happy to say that we ultimately got her T visa and we're waiting for her green card to be approved, and she is very happy and free.

What challenges have you faced as a woman leading a law firm, and how have you overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges is the "You can do it all" mentality that our society places on women. Be the perfect mom, the perfect partner, the perfect employee/boss. Letting go of being perfect is definitely something I work on every day. I have to constantly remind myself that sometimes good enough is good enough.

I've also struggled, particularly in the context of immigration, with men in certain cultures taking me seriously. As a result, I narrowed my focus to cultures that I knew would respect me and my knowledge, regardless?of my gender. This made a big difference in my practice, especially when the firm was small.

How has your team’s global and remote structure influenced the firm's success and culture?

This is honestly what I love most about our team. I'm so proud of how we are almost completely virtual, yet our team is so tight-knit and uplifting. I think that is very rare in a remote setting. By being remote, we have been able to pull amazing talent from all over the world, and I think this has allowed us to select people who believe in our mission and fit in well with our company culture

In your opinion, what sets Eagan Immigration apart from other immigration law firms?

Our incredible team and company culture. Even though it is internal to the company, I think that our team is able to be more compassionate with our clients and work harder for them because they feel supported and truly enjoy their work. They also have the flexibility to be innovative and come up with creative solutions that other law firms would never think of. I understand that we aren't perfect and there are definitely times and projects that are challenging, but I think knowing your team has your back makes it easier to do amazing work for the clients.

Can you share a bit about the firm’s specialization in VAWA and T-Visa? How do these areas of focus reflect the firm’s mission and values?

At Eagan Immigration, we want to empower immigrants, to help shape for them a future of hope and opportunity. Both VAWA and T visa cases focus on immigrants who have suffered some form of abuse, trauma, or mistreatment. But taking so many of these cases, we are fighting for those who have spent so long fighting for themselves. Fighting for safety. Fighting for enough money to eat. Fighting for a future for their kids. Fighting to create a life in the United States. These cases mean so much to me because they allow us to help our clients move past the fighting and give them back their power.

How has your background and personal experiences shaped your approach to leading Eagan Immigration and serving your clients?

There are many things in my background that have influenced how I lead Eagan Immigration and serve my clients - working at law firms that treated their staff like dirt, watching my ex-husband's green card get denied at the consulate and experiencing the pain of separation when he couldn't reenter the US, seeing my immigrant classmates struggle to learn English as a child. However, as I get older, I realize more and?more that as long as I lead with compassion in every area of Eagan Immigration and my life in general, things usually turn out pretty well and I can look back and feel confident about the choices I made.

What do you see as the biggest opportunities and challenges in the field of immigration law today?

Politics and politics. There are so many opportunities for Congress to pass legislation that could overhaul the immigration laws in a really positive way. But at the same time, politicians use immigrants as a pawn, and it becomes beneficial to NOT make any changes so that "immigration reform" can be used as part of their platform. There's also a huge risk in every election that an anti-immigrant individual will be elected and wreak havoc on the immigrant communities with deportations and threats.

What role does community engagement play in Eagan Immigration’s operations, and how do you foster a strong connection with the Hispanic community?

We love giving back to the community and, especially over this past year, have worked hard to develop relationships with within the Hispanic community. Members of our team have given "know your rights" talks at local libraries, attended community events, and volunteered at immigration workshops. Additionally, we have been working on a program internally that would allow us to set goals and track our community involvement so that we can ensure we're really out there participating. We've also started the process of creating a scholarship fund to help immigrants and their children go to college. This is something I have wanted to do for years, and I'm very excited that we're making headway on it.

What are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned over the past ten years as a leader and entrepreneur?

Be kind and compassionate. Done is better than perfect. It's okay to make mistakes, and if you're not, you're not being innovative enough. Money is nice, but it's not everything - it's more important to stick to your values than make a decision for the money. Be organized from the beginning. Constantly learn - read books, attend trainings, network, get a mentor. Start where you want to go - this basically means, have a plan, set boundaries, and stick to them.

What legacy do you hope to leave through your work with Eagan Immigration, both within the firm and in the broader community?

I want my team to look back at their time at Eagan and know that they were supported, respected, and cared for. I want our clients to look back and truly feel that they were seen and empowered. And on a broader scale, I would ultimately like to teach more attorneys about our innovative legal strategies so they can go out into the community and help more immigrants. I would like Eagan Immigration to be known as the law firm that shaped US immigration in a positive way.

As Eagan Immigration looks to the future, the firm’s mission remains clear: to support and empower immigrants, providing not only legal guidance but also hope and the opportunity to build a better future. Over the past ten years, Lauren Eagan has shown that leading with compassion and fostering a strong team culture are the keys to success. With new goals on the horizon and the same unwavering commitment, Eagan Immigration continues to be a beacon of hope for those seeking a fresh start in the United States. Happy 10th anniversary to Eagan Immigration, and here’s to the next ten years of even more opportunities to impact lives!