Victory in Immigration Court

Immigration Law Clinic students Hoa Hoang '08 and Dong Zee '08 won an important victory before the Immigration Court. Their client, a Moroccan citizen who was imprisoned and severely tortured in his country for his advocacy for the sovereignty of Western Sahara and his opposition to the monarchy, had lived in the United States for almost 24 years.

Due to the client's undocumented status, his employer refused to pay his wages and threatened to call the immigration authorities. The client took his back wages from the company safe and was arrested and convicted of theft. He was then arrested again during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid and sent to Sacramento County Jail for immigration proceedings.

Holly Cooper, the Clinic's supervising attorney, and David King '07 obtained the client's release on bond, but he was then rearrested by the ICE with no explanation or warrant. After a prolonged delay, the client finally appeared before an immigration judge. Dong Zee conducted the direct examination of the client and closing arguments while Hoang conducted the direct examination of both expert witnesses Dr. Ami Laws from Survivors' International and Dr. Amana Ayoub from Asian Americans for Community Involvement, Center for Survivors of Torture. Hoa Hoang also addressed the judge's concerns about the eligibility implications of the client's conviction and whether the client was exempt from the one-year deadline for filing after entry into the country.

On July 3, 2007, the immigration judge granted the Clinic's client relief to prevent his removal to a country where there was a probability he would suffer persecution. The client remains detained, though, while waiting to hear if the ICE will appeal the immigration judge's decision. In the meantime, the Immigration law Clinic is strategizing on how best to attain liberty for their client.