Who We Are

Laila Ayub is an Immigration Attorney and Co-Founder/Director of ANAR, an Afghan community-based immigration justice organization that has served over 10,000 Afghans through legal services, community education, and advocacy. Laila helped launch ANAR in August 2021 as a grassroots pro bono project. She has over 7 years of experience as an attorney in immigration and human rights, coordinating advocacy and litigation efforts, and working alongside dozens of refugees and asylum seekers. Prior to ANAR, Laila represented detained asylum seekers in Texas, with advocacy including detention release efforts during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2024, Laila was honored with the Joseph Minsky Young Lawyer Award by the American Immigration Lawyers Association for her contributions to the field of immigration law and leadership in responding to Afghan immigration needs. She graduated from American University Washington College of Law where she was the Director of the International Refugee Assistance Project student chapter.

Sara Kohgadai (she/her) is an immigration attorney and Co-director with Project ANAR. Sara joined the team in June 2023 to expand our services for Afghan parolees in the Bay Area. As a Co-director at ANAR, Sara works with Afghan parolees in English and in Dari, provides training and Know Your Rights sessions to services providers and community members, and advocates for freedom of movement for all.

Mahjabin is a Program Director and Legal Assistant with Project ANAR. Prior to joining Project ANAR, she volunteered her time to assist afghan with interpretation at ANAR legal workshops, and officially joined the team in summer 2023. As a Legal Assistant at ANAR she works with Afghans and provides interpretation and translation service in English, Dari and Pashto. Mahjabin is an Afghan activist and worked as an interpreter/linguist at the U.S. embassy in Kabul-Afghanistan. She is passionate about increasing access to justice, helping refugees and supporting afghans.