He grew up in San Francisco and has been working with immigrant communities for over a decade, including as a legal worker with immigration legal services providers in the Bay Area prior to law school. Daniel graduated with a BA in International Development Studies from UCLA and lived and worked in Mexico City for a year following his studies. He was awarded a Public Service Scholarship to attend UC Irvine School of Law, where he participated in the UCI Immigrant Rights Clinic and was immersed in the study and practice of movement and community lawyering

Prior to joining Jubilee, Daniel worked at Just Futures Law where his work focused on strategic litigation to advance immigrant rights and support grassroots community organizing, and at Dolores Street Community Services (now Mission Action) where he represented asylum seekers and others in removal proceedings.