Bonnie Youn was honored in 2013 by the Obama White House as a Champion of Change.
Last year she pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge of aiding and abetting a client who obtained a Georgia driver’s license although she was not a Georgia resident.
The sentence puts an end to the two-year-old case in which she was charged with one count of perjury, one count of harboring an undocumented immigrant “for the purpose of commercial advantage,” and one count of tampering with witness testimony.
“In passionately pursuing the American dream for one of my clients,” Youn said, “I crossed the line. I broke the law, and I must pay the price. Let this be a cautionary tale to all my brothers and sisters in the law—that they may not yield to the same temptation.”
Judge Amy Totenberg called the sentence “reasonable and generous.” She also had some kind words to Youn as a roomful of immigration rights attorneys and supporters of Youn listened.
“It is a loss to our community that you can’t practice law right now,” Totenberg said.”But it is also a loss to the community … when those who think immigration should be stopped at the border believe the process is corrupted.”
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