From Past to Present: How Immigration Court and
ICE History Shapes Today's Practice
From the Civil War era to the creation of EOIR in 1983 and major changes after 9/11, U.S. Immigration Courts have evolved under federal oversight. Today, judges face growing backlogs and political scrutiny. This webinar explores due process challenges and offers guidance for practitioners navigating the system in support of clients.
Presented by:
Gunda J. Brost, Esq.
Friday, May 8, 2026
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Online via Zoom
Gunda J. Brost is an immigration attorney (immigration lawyer) in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Gunda is originally from Oldenburg, North Germany. She holds a law degree from Hamline University School of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota (May 2006). Gunda was admitted to the Iowa bar in 2007. Gunda is a former model and a world languages teacher, with experience teaching English as a Second Language, German, French, and Latin. Gunda’s legal experience includes working part-time as a law clerk and later an associate for immigration attorney Antunez de Mayolo law office (2003-2012), being a student director for the Minneapolis Public Defender’s office (2005), as well as representing clients in mediation proceedings in Hamline’s mediation clinic (2005). Gunda is fluent in English, French and German, and Spanish. Besides her law degree, Gunda holds a B.A. from Wartburg College and a Master’s degree from Middlebury College, Vermont. As a fun fact, Gunda was a former Ms. Nebraska. In her free time, she enjoys reading, foreign movies, dancing, art, music and traveling.
As a college student, Gunda became increasingly involved in international issues as a result of having met and befriended international students from all over the world. But it was not until years later when Gunda was teaching English to speakers of other languages and volunteering at a domestic violence hotline in Omaha, NE, that she considered studying immigration law. At this time, students from all walks of life would ask Gunda for advice, which she did not always feel knowledgeable enough to provide. The experience of standing helplessly by while one of her undocumented students was severely injured at the company where he was working without papers pushed Gunda to take some steps to learn more. The young man ended up permanently losing several of his fingers, yet because of his fear of being deported felt he had no legal recourse against the employer who had failed to provide adequate safety measures. Seeing his fear and suffering first-hand brought the situation of undocumented, often underpaid and at times exploited workers to Gunda’s attention. The next semester, she enrolled in law school. It was always her fascination with immigration law that was at the heart of her motivation to become an attorney. As a law student working with local immigration attorney Miryam Antunez, Gunda was able to assist in representing the victims of the 2006 ICE raid in Marshalltown. One of the highlights of Gunda’s experience as a law student was when she helped write a legal brief for an asylum application that was ultimately granted. Since then, Gunda has found that her interest in and experience with living abroad, international people and their cultures and finally her ability to speak different languages have been tremendously helpful in her ability to serve her clients.
Gunda is an active member of AILA (American Immigration Lawyer's Association) and has held leadership positions at the national, regional and local level in immigration advocacy. She was the 2024-2025 Iowa-Nebraska AILA chapter chair and served on the AILA board of governors. She is a member of the ABA international and immigration law steering committee. She is an active member of the Iowa State Bar Association. Gunda presents regularly on immigration topics at a national level.
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