Immigration Clinic Gains Release for Afghani Detainee
The UC Davis School of Law Immigration Law Clinic halted deportation proceedings against an Afghani immigrant with a history of mental illness last week and gained his release from custody. Professor Raha Jorjani, a staff attorney for the Immigration Clinic, said that the efforts of King Hall students Donny Le '09 and Amparo Cid '10 in successfully defending their client against a deportation order was the equivalent of avoiding a "death sentence" for the man.
Professor Jorjani said that Le and Cid deserved commendation for assembling more than 700 pages of documentation regarding the client's mental illness, putting together a team of international experts to testify as to what would happen if he were deported to Afghanistan, and zealously defending the client through a five-hour hearing. (The client has a fear of returning to Afghanistan because of the likelihood that he would be persecuted on the basis of his religious beliefs.)
Professor Jorjani also credited Elica Vafaie '11, as well as Mabie Law Library staff members Aaron Dailey and Elisabeth McKechnie, for assisting with research in the case, and thanked Immigration Clinic staff members Teresa Medina and Martha Jaime for their support.