To remind me of the people I've helped and the great things I have been a part of thanks to the Immigration Law Clinic. I worked on the case below for my entire 2L year (things were moving slow, waiting to hear back on the BIA appeal, trying to get documents from the court, etc.) This case was not particularly devastating for me, especially near the end, but this story is very compelling.

This man is 80 years old, has dementia or some sort of memory problems, he has lived in this country for over 40 years, is wheelchair bound, and DHS just spent over two years trying to deport him over a typo on a record of judgment. i.e. because of a tiny, stupid mistake in the criminal court, this man nearly was deported from this country. The incompetence of the DHS attorneys is astounding: it took them over two years to even bother checking what his actual conviction was -- and that was only when we physically mailed him ALL the documents showing them. Anyways. We win. nya-nya. <3

The email my supervisor sent out:

All –

Through the hard work of Genevieve Roman (3L), Janet Kim (3L), and Diem Tran (3L), the Clinic was able to successfully terminate removal proceedings on behalf of an 80 year old Lawful Permanent Resident with substantial physical disabilities, after getting involved with the case over one year ago. The Client is a citizen of Mexico who has resided legally in the United States since 1990.

The case came to us from Karen Burke, Esq. of O'Toole, Rothwell, Nassau & Steinbach in Washington DC who had been assigned the case by the BIA pro bono project. Our client was not represented at the immigration court level. Despite having been charged under a statute that only covers possession offenses, he was ordered removed for having been convicted of sale. Neither the Judge nor the Trial Attorney took the time to look up the statute to see that the statute did not cover sale offenses, whatsoever.

Ms. Burke successfully litigated the case before the BIA and it was remanded for the Judge to correctly assess his conviction and whether or not he was eligible for relief. Despite having completed her representation of the Client, Ms. Burke continued to advocate on our client’s behalf, convincing the Clinic to take the case on remand since the client had already suffered greatly as a result of not being represented in court the first time around.

While the case was pending before the BIA, Genevieve Roman investigated and obtained documents that established that our client was convicted of possession and not sale. Genevieve then facilitated post conviction relief for the Client with additional pro bono representation by Wes Hamilton, an attorney in Exeter, California, in the form of an expungement of his only conviction.

Due to his age and compromised health, our client then took a trip outside of the country and the Clinic facilitated and negotiated his safe return back to the United States, despite the legal dangers presented by an exit from the country during removal proceedings. Teresa Medina and Martha Jaime were instrumental in helping us remain in close communication with the client’s family during that time.

Once on remand, Janet Kim and Diem Tran drafted several pre-trial motions, ultimately resulting in a final motion to terminate arguing that under pursuant to the law in the 9th Cir. expungement of a first time possession offense eliminates any immigration consequences of that conviction.

Yesterday, the Court granted the Motion to Terminate, restoring client’s status to that of Lawful Permanent Resident and terminating removal proceedings against him. Through the pro bono advocacy of Ms. Burke, Mr. Hamilton, and the Immigration Law Clinic, the client is not only not facing the prospect of removal but has had his only criminal conviction expunged.

This case highlights how much can get done on behalf of someone in need where pro bono counsel is available, particularly where age and health become such important factors in the case – as well as the importance of collaboration between immigration and criminal defense counsel.

Thanks to everyone for their hard work!