Michael P. Davis
Michael serves as Senior Counsel for HNK, having joined the firm in 2026 after more than 25 years of immigration law practice. He has extensive experience with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) adjudication and enforcement policies and practices, and with administrative and federal immigration litigation on a wide range of substantive and procedural issues. From habeas, mandamus, and Administrative Procedure Act litigation, to removal defense in Immigration Court and at the appellate level, Mike serves HNK’s clients through a strategic approach to their cases that blends a deep knowledge of the law with pragmatic judgment and insights into how federal immigration agencies and courts operate.
Prior to joining HNK, Mike worked for the former Immigration and Naturalization Service and then DHS in several roles. Early in his career, he served as a trial attorney in Immigration Court, counsel to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services refugee and asylum programs, and a detailed refugee adjudicator in Africa and Latin America. He later led U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) appellate team, guiding DHS’s advocacy efforts before the Board of Immigration Appeals and serving as the liaison to DOJ’s Office of Immigration Litigation on federal appellate immigration litigation matters. In 2022, after he had served several years as ICE’s senior career lawyer, Mike joined the Executive Office for Immigration Review as an Immigration Judge and was quickly promoted to Assistant Chief Immigration Judge, with responsibility for the courts in Northern Virginia. Before retiring from federal service, Mike trained and mentored countless attorneys and served as a trusted counselor to immigration officers and DHS leaders.
Bar Admissions
- California 2001
- District of Columbia (Pending)
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California 2001
Education
- 2000 – University of Illinois College of Law, J.D., Honors in Legal Writing, Articles Editor for Illinois Law Review
- 1997 – John Carroll University, B.A. in Spanish and Political Science with minor in Philosophy, summa cum laude
Presentations and Media Appearances
- Judge extends TPS for Haitians in Springfield; Immigration lawyer talks asylum process – WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio
Professional Organizations
- American Immigration Lawyers Association
- Federal Bar Association
Languages
- Spanish
