Sylvia Duluc-Silva

Founder & Managing Attorney

Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, Sylvia is a licensed attorney with over seven years of experience, specializing in immigration law, crimmigration, and social justice advocacy. She is admitted to the Florida Bar and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and is currently eligible to practice before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).

Sylvia is the Secretary of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) South Florida Chapter and a proud member of IWILL (Inspiring Women in Law League), a national network supporting women in law. Her educational background includes a Juris Doctor from Vermont Law School and a Master of Arts in Environmental Sociology from the University of Tennessee, where she focused on social and environmental justice.

During her legal training, Sylvia interned with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., and spent a formative summer at the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, where she gained firsthand experience in criminal prosecution and courtroom practice. These experiences sparked her interest in the intersection of criminal and immigration law—commonly known as crimmigration—which is now a central part of her practice.

Today, Sylvia’s work focuses on immigration defense, especially asylum litigation and representing individuals in ICE custody. She also takes on criminal defense matters, particularly in cases involving immigration consequences, such as bond hearings, post-conviction relief, and defending clients facing criminal charges. Since founding her own firm, SDS Law, she has successfully represented clients from a wide range of national backgrounds, including Venezuela, Cuba, Russia, Uzbekistan, and India.

Sylvia’s advocacy is grounded in her lifelong commitment to equity, access, and justice. Her cross-disciplinary background in environmental law, food justice, and criminal defense informs her holistic approach to each client’s unique story. She brings heart, tenacity, and strategic insight to every case, striving to create meaningful change one client at a time.

Vermont Law School, South Royalton, VT 

Juris Doctor – May 2018

Vermont Law Review: Symposium Editor & Production Coordinator, 2017-2018; Coordinated the Symposium on “Media Law & Journalism” Staff Editor, 2016-2017; Note: Looking into the Future by Adopting the Past: A Comparative Look at Sustainable Food Practices in the US & Cuba

 

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN – May 2017

Master of Arts in Environmental Sociology focus on social & environmental justice

Inductee, Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society; Travel Grant award for project on Revisioning Sustainability: Campuses as a Catalyst for Regenerative Food Systems; SGSA President

Thesis: Food Justice and Practices in the Five Points Community of Knoxville, Tennessee: A Survey of Residents Living in an Urban Food Desert 

 

Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL – May 2010

Bachelor of Science in Sociology with Minors in Anthropology, Psychology and Family Studies

Academic Honors 2008-10; President’s Faculty Research & Development Grant for excellence in research

Founding Attorney 

March 2019–Present

SDS Law, Miami, FL

  • Private practice representation of clients in property law primarily Landlord- Tenant disputes both trial and negotiation and mediation; draft & review contracts for clients; provide criminal defense, & per-Diem coverage for multiple immigration law firms for removal proceedings and drafting appeals & motions

 

Managing Attorney & Immigration Trial Defense Attorney 

May 2019–August 2025

John De La Vega P.A, Miami, FL & Orlando, FL 

  • Managing attorney responsible for all duties pertaining to managing a law firm from payroll to hires in both main office and satellite office; direct supervisor of 6 paralegals and law clerk; devise solutions to complex legal issues and guide team members in a collaborative, supportive environment
  • Immigration Trial Attorney, provide defense in removal proceedings mostly for clients seeking asylum, manage over 450 active cases, draft appeals for the Board of Immigration appeals, draft motions,  conduct witness preparation, represented clients in  USCIS interviews for adjustment of Status and represent clients in ICE detention facilities & bond hearings.

 

Semester in Practice Law Clerk (F/T)

August 2017–December 2017

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Office of Civil Enforcement, Washington, DC

  • Participated in an Administrative hearing for the Air Enforcement Division; prepared expert witnesses on Clean Air Act (CAA), economic benefit, and certification compliance; kept record of admitted exhibits; joined in settlement discussions; drafted a motion to stipulate, and drafted a response motion to reopen the hearing
  • Worked part- time with Waste and Chemical Enforcement Division and conducted legal research on TSCA, FIFRA and CAA; performed; performed literature review on toxic chemicals; compiled consent decree language on Emission Credit Generation; and researched legislative history on CAA §112(r)

 

Research Associate

August 2016–December 2017 

Center for Agriculture and Food Systems – Healthy Food Policy Project, South Royalton, VT

  • Developed a rubric to assess local laws and policies so as to improve access to healthy food
  • Coded local ordinances, policies, and mandates that promote health equity, support local economies, and foster improved environmental outcomes

 

Summer Intern

May 2017–August 2017

Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, Miami, FL

  • Assisted Assistant State Attorney in Felony division during daily arraignments, hearings, soundings, depositions and witness interviews
  • Drafted response motions for post-conviction relief, applied sentencing guide, meet with investigators to develop cases, prepared and organized case files

 

Graduate Teaching Assistant

January 2013–August 2013 

The University of Tennessee – Sociology Department, Knoxville, TN 

  • Assisted professor with the design of the new sociology webpage
  • Organized UT’s Green Economy Initiative and events for guest lecturers and prospective students

 

Administrative Manager

September 2010–August 2012

Doctor’s Office, Inc., Miami, FL

  • Provided information for budgets, scheduled expenditures, monitored costs and analyzed variances
  • Assisted with technological advances; changed from paper patient charts to electronic health record software

 

Administrative Assistant

January 2009 – May 2010

Nova Southeastern University, The Innovation Zone, Office of Information and Technology, Davie, FL 

  • Provided administrative and secretarial support for the department 
  • Established, maintained and updated files, databases, records and other documents. 
  • Jones, R.E., Wajones, R. S., Duluc-Silva, M. Fly, and T. Walton. (June 2017) Food Justice and Security in a Community of Color: A Survey of Residents Living in an Urban Food Desert in the Southern Appalachian Region of the United States. Paper presentation. International Symposium on Society and Resource Management (ISSRM), 19-22 June 2017, Umeå, Sweden.
  • Duluc-Silva, Sylvia Isabel, “Food Justice and Practices in the Five Points Community of Knoxville, Tennessee: A Survey of Residents Living in an Urban Food Desert.” Master’s Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2017. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/4733
  • Duluc-Silva, S. (2014) Paper Presentation. Food Access and Practices in your community: A Survey of Neighborhoods in East Knoxville, TN. Second Annual Workshop on Food Justice. 23-25 May 2014. Michigan State University.
  • Duluc-Silva, S. (2014) Research Incubator. Place Attachment: Built Environment of Community Gardens in East Knoxville. Southern Sociological Society annual meeting. 2-5 April 2014. Charlotte, North Carolina.
  • Smith-Cavros, E. M., Duluc-Silva, S., Del Carmen Rodríguez, M., Ortiz, P., & Keith, E. O. (2012, June). “You Can’t Eat Money When You Are Hungry”: Campesinos, Manatee Hunting, and Environmental Regret in Veracruz, Mexico. Culture, Agriculture, Food and Environment, 34(1), 68-80.
  • Smith-Cavros, E., S. Duluc-Silva and E.O. Keith. (2010). Poster Presentation. Visions of Nature and Place in myth and Story among Campesinos in Veracruz, Mexico. American Anthropological Association annual meeting, 16-21 November 2010, New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • Duluc-Silva, S. and C. Eldon. (2009). The Attitudes and Roles of Indigenous people of Veracruz, Mexico towards Manatees. 2009 Undergraduate Student symposium Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Nova Southeastern University, 2-3 April 2009. Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
  • Duluc-Silva, S., E. Keith, E. Smith-Cavros, C. Ledon, M. C. Rodríguez, and P. Ortiz. (2009). History and Consequences of Manatee Hunting by Campesino at El Manatí, Veracruz, Mexico. Presented at the International Sirenian Symposium in conjunction with the 18th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, 12-16 October 2009, Quebec City, Canada.
  • Smith-Cavros, E., S. Duluc-Silva, C. Ledon, and E.O. Keith. (2009). Paper Presentation. Memories of Manatee Hunting from Campesinos in Veracruz, Mexico. American Anthropological Association annual meeting, 2-6 December 2009, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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