--- description: Find out how Efrén Olivares is shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership. title: Efrén Olivares Is on the 2025 TIME100 Next image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1965033199ea86ee/6998c9f293610cf02dc2fffc/t100-next-2025-efren-oliveras.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 30, 2025 # Efrén Olivares by Kerry Kennedy  Courtesy Efrén Olivares These are trying times for defenders of America’s proud heritage of welcoming immigrants. Masked agents target people on the basis of race as detention centers proliferate. At Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Efrén Olivares is one of our bravest partners in fighting back. For years, Efrén has championed human dignity. He’s defended families cruelly separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. Through his work at the National Immigration Law Center, he’s stopped the midnight deportation of unaccompanied children denied fair court hearings. And as our co-counsel, he’s battling a federal plan to force immigrants to report for registration as a prelude to detention and deportation. He isn’t just a brilliant lawyer. He’s an example of the principles we’re fighting to protect. His own immigration story shows the promise of an America where everyone has the opportunity to realize their ancestors’ dreams. Efrén is my hero. _Kennedy is president of RFK Human Rights_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318862/efren-olivares/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318862/efren-olivares/"},"headline":"Efrén Olivares","datePublished":"2025-09-30T10:57:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:55:14.033Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318862/efren-olivares/","keywords":["TIME100 Next","sponsorshipblock"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1965033199ea86ee/6998c9f293610cf02dc2fffc/t100-next-2025-efren-oliveras.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1965033199ea86ee/6998c9f293610cf02dc2fffc/t100-next-2025-efren-oliveras.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time100-next/","name":"TIME100 Next"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318862/efren-olivares/","name":"Efrén Olivares"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See Everyone on the 2025 TIME100 Next List","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ICSs7gXk/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2025-09-30T10:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ICSs7gXk.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318862/efren-olivares/","duration":"PT1M59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318862/efren-olivares/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```