Musings on Immigration

Tuve el placer y la bendición de trabajar con un hombre de El Salvador que solía trabajar en su país como oficial de la Policía Nacional Civil (PNC). Él llegó a los Estados Unidos (sin documentación) después de huir de El Salvador por las diferentes amenazas a muerte que él recibió después de haberse encontrado con varios miembros de la Mara contantemente dada la naturaleza de su trabajo. Después de litigar este caso por varios meses, mi cliente tuvo su audiencia final este pasado Viernes, Marzo 11, 2016 en Lumpkin, Georgia, donde el juez de inmigración decidió que él podrá quedarse en el país. Este hombre, quien ha estado detenido en el centro de detención de Stewart (en Lumpkin, Georgia), sufrió gran daño en El Salvador antes de venir a los Estados Unidos: fue amenazado a muerte contantemente por miembros de la Mara contra los cuales él testificaba en corte, y en dos ocasiones, él fue disparado con un arma por miembros de esta pandilla--el último incidente resultando en una heri...

I had the pleasure and blessing to work with a man from El Salvador who used to work as an officer of the National Civil Police (or Policía Nacional Civil—in Spanish). He arrived to the U.S. (without documentation) after fleeing El Salvador following death threats and several encounters where he was shot by members of the Mara gang. After litigating the case for several months, my client had his final trial this past Friday, March 11, in Lumpkin, GA, where the Immigration Judge decided that he will get to remain in the U.S. This man, who was detained in Stewart Detention Center (Lumpkin, GA) had suffered great harm in El Salvador before coming the U.S.: he was threatened to death constantly by gang members he would arrest and testify against, and on two occasions, he was shot at by gang members—the last incident resulting in a bullet wound, which made him realize he either fled his country, or he would surely die. If a foreign national suffers harm abroad and/or fears he will ...

Usted debería contratar a un abogado de inmigración el cual pueda averiguar exactamente cual es el cargo especifico que el gobierno esta presentando en contra suya. Esta semana, tuvimos un cliente  que fue detenido en su propia casa, antes del amanecer, después de que ICE toco a su puerta, y lo transfirieron al Centro de Detención de Stewart en Lumpkin, GA (2.5 horas al sur de Atlanta). La esposa de nuestro cliente contrato a nuestra firma para que investigáramos exactamente lo que el gobierno iba a presentar en contra de su esposo y para que pidiéramos una fianza por el. ICE inicialmente nos dijo que nuestro cliente tenía una felonía agravada, lo cual es bastante serio (ejemplos de felonías agravadas son: pornografía y abuso infantil, ofensas relacionadas con armas de fuego, robo, trafico de drogas, etc.). Dos días después de que fuimos informados de esto, ICE empezó a alegar que ahora nuestro cliente tenia una condena por DUI de 1997 y que por eso estaba detenido. Para ese e...

You should hire an immigration attorney who can actually find out what exactly it is the government (or ICE) is charging you with. This week, we had a client detained at his own house, before dawn, after ICE agents knocked on his door, and transferred him to Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, GA (2.5 hours south of Atlanta). Our client’s wife promptly came to our office and hired us so we could investigate what charges the government was bringing against the client and to get a bond for him. ICE initially told us and our client’s wife that the client had an aggravated felony, which for the purposes of simplicity, is something really really bad (examples of aggravated felonies are child abuse and pornography, burglary, firearms offenses, drug trafficking, etc.).  Two days after we were notified of this, now ICE was claiming our client had a conviction for DUI from 1997 and that’s I why he was being detained. By this time, our client’s wife had already secured a certified disp...

Johanna Cochran one of our stellar attorneys recently took a pro bono case for a Mexican man detained at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia,  who, despite a diagnosis and treatment for brain cancer, was refused release from detention to seek urgent medical treatment. Our client was a Legal Permanent Resident of the U.S., had been living in this country for over 25 years, and was the father of three U.S. citizen children. He was detained because of a recent battery charge for which he was convicted. This man failed to seek the advice of an attorney before pleading guilty to the charge and it was not until officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) went looking for him, that he sought an attorney to try to reopen his criminal conviction (which he had pled to without attorney advice).  By reopening the case, this long term permanent resident would not be deported. Our firm quickly learned that our client had some serious medical conditions that needed ...

It’s not often we get to witness the inner workings of the American justice system. Unless you’re a judge, attorney, or just someone that has had one too many brushes with law enforcement, most Americans don’t usually get to witness the nitty gritty of our legal practices. On the rare occasions when we do, it seems everyone not only has an opinion, but a strong one (read: Zimmerman, Casey Anthony, OJ Simpson). We debate and react with outrage when we feel our justice system was not quite… just . Sadly it’s usually the cases that are not broadcasted 24/7 on CNN and FOX that tend to fall through the cracks. It’s the impoverished, the youth, the victims of crimes and domestic abuse, the immigrants… those are the ones that are forced to navigate an unfair justice system first hand.  The travesty of justice can only get worse when suffered by the voiceless. As an immigration attorney, we see this first hand with immigrants put in removal proceedings, ...