The Road to a Pro Bono Asylum Win: Q&A with Aaron Zakem

 

Sulma came to the United States in 2017 fleeing extreme domestic abuse in Guatemala. She brought her infant son and was pregnant with her second child when she arrived in Texas. She initially had enough funds to hire an attorney to lodge her asylum application, but could not afford to continue paying him. She came to CLSEPA for assistance and I volunteered to take on her case. I helped her file completed asylum petitions for herself and her son, develop her personal statement for the court, gather affidavits from her family in Guatemala attesting to the harm she had suffered, and file a pre-hearing brief and supporting exhibits. I also prepared Sulma to give testimony at her merits hearing before the Immigration Judge, and represented her at the hearing itself. The process involved meeting with Sulma and a volunteer translator multiple times to help Sulma explain her experiences in Guatemala and her reasons for fleeing to the United States. This was a difficult process for Sulma given the nature of the harm she had suffered. Encouraging Sulma to provide the required level of detail to make her case before the Immigration Court was akin to asking her to relive her abuse, and during some sessions we simply left off with a plan to discuss certain events during the next session so that she could prepare herself mentally and emotionally. In the course of representing Sulma, I also acted as a guide for navigating various aspects of living as a refugee in the United States such as obtaining a work permit and applying for Medi-Cal. 

 

Sulma came to the United States in 2017 fleeing extreme domestic abuse in Guatemala. She brought her infant son and was pregnant with her second child when she arrived in Texas. She initially had enough funds to hire an attorney to lodge her asylum application, but could not afford to continue paying him. She came to CLSEPA for assistance and I volunteered to take on her case. I helped her file completed asylum petitions for herself and her son, develop her personal statement for the court, gather affidavits from her family in Guatemala attesting to the harm she had suffered, and file a pre-hearing brief and supporting exhibits. I also prepared Sulma to give testimony at her merits hearing before the Immigration Judge, and represented her at the hearing itself. The process involved meeting with Sulma and a volunteer translator multiple times to help Sulma explain her experiences in Guatemala and her reasons for fleeing to the United States. This was a difficult process for Sulma given the nature of the harm she had suffered. Encouraging Sulma to provide the required level of detail to make her case before the Immigration Court was akin to asking her to relive her abuse, and during some sessions we simply left off with a plan to discuss certain events during the next session so that she could prepare herself mentally and emotionally. In the course of representing Sulma, I also acted as a guide for navigating various aspects of living as a refugee in the United States such as obtaining a work permit and applying for Medi-Cal. 

 

Sulma's merits hearing was scheduled for March 2020, and the Immigration Courts shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic three days before her hearing date. Her hearing was rescheduled for March 2023. While this allowed her to safely remain in the United States for another 3 years, it also left her future in an uncertain state, and we had to go through a second round of interviews, update her briefing and supporting documents, and prepare her to give testimony anew. However, during this time period, AG Garland overruled two decisions issued during the previous presidential administration that were detrimental to Sulma's case.  As a result, Sulma's case for asylum became much more straight-forward. On the day of Sulma's hearing, she was quite nervous, but she did an excellent job of telling her story to the Court and the DHS attorney. Sulma was granted asylum by the IJ at the end of the hearing without DHS reserving appeal. It was a happy ending to a stressful process that stretched out for years.

 

 

The most rewarding part was seeing Sulma's happiness and relief when she was granted asylum, and knowing that she would be able to raise her children safely in the United States.

 

 

Sulma's primary reason for seeking asylum was domestic abuse committed by her husband in Guatemala, and that particular group of asylum seekers was squarely in the crosshairs of the previous presidential administration. Several AG opinions attempting to disqualify this group of asylum seekers were issued while Sulma's case was pending, and the strategy for her case needed to adapt to address the changing state of the law. These decisions were subsequently vacated by AG Garland prior to Sulma's merits hearing, which required further alterations to Sulma's pre-hearing brief and trial preparation. The EOIR also instituted a page limit for pre-hearing briefs almost simultaneously with the filing of Sulma's original pre-hearing brief, resulting in her brief being heavily overlength. Keeping abreast of changes in the law and reacting accordingly was definitely a challenge, but CLSEPA was amazingly helpful. The pro-bono coordinators made sure that I was aware of new developments and had the tools to respond.

 

 

I could not have undertaken this representation without CLSEPA's mentorship and assistance. CLSEPA provided training materials, exemplar briefs, advice on case strategy and preparation for the merits hearing, assistance in finding a volunteer translator, and opportunities to attend hearings at the San Francisco Immigration Court for cases handled by CLSEPA staff attorneys. CLSEPA also provided insight on the Immigration Judge and DHS attorney assigned to Sulma's matter.  I undertook this project as a solo pro-bono practitioner unaffiliated with a law firm, and CLSEPA provided office space for meeting with Sulma and attending the (now virtual) merits hearing.  

 

 

First, I found this to be far and away the most meaningful usage of my law degree and bar membership in my entire career. Taking on an asylum matter means helping an applicant (and often their children) escape a life threatening situation and secure a stable future in the United States. 

 

Second, even if you have no prior experience in immigration law, your legal training and experience as an attorney makes you invaluable to an asylum applicant who will otherwise be left to navigate a complex system without representation. You are well-suited to navigate the bureaucracy of the EOIR and USCIS, identify the pieces of the applicant's history and experience that are most relevant under asylum law, assemble and submit filings to the court, and prepare the applicant to tell their story and respond to questions from the Immigration Judge and DHS attorney. These are tasks that a refugee of limited means will find exceedingly difficult. Further, CLSEPA will be there to help you every step of the way. When I undertook this matter, I had no previous experience with immigration matters, but CLSEPA was able to bring me up to speed very quickly. In short, if I could handle it, so can you. 

 

The demand for pro bono representation very much outstrips the supply, so if you or your firm have the capacity to assist in an asylum matter, I strongly encourage you to do so.