Pro Bono Immigration Case Victory for 14 Year-Old
Pro bono immigration cases have become a new way for Kazan Law to put into practice the humanitarian principle of justice for all on which our asbestos litigation firm was founded over 40 years ago.
We have just achieved another important pro bono immigration case victory. It is important because it is going to make a world of difference in the life of a young boy. Our 14-year-old client Joe (name changed to protect his privacy) has been granted asylum by the US Department of Homeland Security Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services Asylum Office as a result of our efforts on his behalf.
Pro Bono Immigration Case a Matter of Saving Lives
We took on Joe’s pro bono immigration case almost exactly a year ago. He had become a target of local gangs in his home country after witnessing a horrific, violent attack on his family. At 13 years old, he traveled to the United States with a family member not much older than himself. He didn’t know a soul here when he arrived.
Thousands of kids like our client are running for their lives. They sleep in doorsteps and on sidewalks. They walk for miles until their feet bleed; they dangerously hop freight trains. They hide from sex traffickers and machete-wielding gangs. They beg, steal or forage for food.
Like Joe, many are fleeing from violence. According to a report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 58 percent of the 400 migrant youth the agency recently interviewed “had suffered, been threatened, or feared serious harm” that would merit international protection.
Pro Bono Immigration Case Victory Gives Teen a Better Life
After spending weeks getting shuffled around some of those crowded detention centers in Texas, our client Joe was allowed to come to California to live with a RELATIVE here. She and Joe had never met before but she was able to provide him with a good home.
Joe has thrived here over the last year, doing well in school and rapidly learning English. He didn’t speak a word of English at first. Now he is able to speak well enough to talk with Ryan Harris, the Kazan Law associate who managed his case, without a translator.
“He is an incredibly bright kid and now, because of the teamwork here at Kazan, he doesn’t have to worry that he will be sent back to the dangerous conditions he escaped from,” Ryan told me when we discussed the case.
Pro Bono Immigration Case Success Takes a Village
This pro bono immigration case was a success thanks to the efforts of many people here at Kazan Law working together as a team. We are all incredibly proud of this achievement.
I want to especially thank legal assistant Stacy McKenna for her dogged efforts. Stacy spent months doing investigative work to help supplement some of the crucial information in the case, and translating important documents.
Many others also contributed. Associate Stephanie Wargo-Wilson put together an exhaustive compilation and summary of country conditions research showing why it is too dangerous to send Joe home. Paralegal Jazmin Solorzano did a fantastic job as our asylum hearing translator. Associate Irena Kin and administrative assistant Stevie Nicole Chapman helped with court filings. Trust accounts coordinator Marcella Nava ALSO translated MANY important Spanish documents into English. Former Kazan associate Julianna Rivera and now full time immigration attorney with her own practice volunteered her expertise. Executive assistant Terry Roy kept our files organized, calendared the hearings, and processed OUR MANY filings with the asylum office. Retired Kazan partner Frank Fernandez also offered his assistance and experience. And of course big thanks to Kazan Law partner Denise Abrams for being the driving force in taking these very worthy cases.
Second Pro Bono Immigration Case Win With More to Follow
Joe’s case was the second pro bono immigration case our firm has taken on and our second success. Other pro bono immigration cases will follow. We are exhilarated and energized by the difference we have been able to make in the lives of these clients.
Please join me in wishing Joe a bright, happy, and safe future.