It is with deep sadness that we report the death of Leon Wildes, a distinguished immigration attorney and adjunct professor who taught immigration law at Cardozo for 33 years and was a member of the Yeshiva College Board of Overseers. He was 90 years old. 

Throughout his dedicated career as a lawyer and teacher, he received many awards, including the Edith Lowenstein Memorial Award for excellence in advancing the practice of immigration law, and the Elmer Fried Excellence in Teaching Award in immigration law. At Cardozo, he guided generations of lawyers into the practice of immigration law and founded an immigration law externship to provide students with practical experience under the supervision of attorneys. 

Wildes was renowned for his successful representation of John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the 1970s in their deportation proceedings instituted by the Nixon administration. He wrote a book on the case, “John Lennon vs. the USA” and was featured in the documentary film The U.S. vs. John Lennon. Wildes published numerous articles, including in the Cardozo Law Review, the Brooklyn Law Review and the San Diego Law Review.  

Wildes was the founding member and senior partner of Wildes & Weinberg, P.C. He practiced immigration law in New York City since 1960, serving as the national president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association in the 1970s.  

Wildes’ son, Michael Wildes ’89, has been an adjunct professor of law at Cardozo for many years, following in his father’s footsteps teaching immigration law. Michael is Managing Partner of Wildes & Weinberg and the Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey. He and his wife, Amy Wildes ’89, met while taking Leon Wildes’ class at Cardozo. Their children, Joshua Wildes and Raquel Wildes, graduated from the law school in 2019, and Joshua joined his grandfather's practice in 2021.

We offer the Wildes family our deepest sympathy.