Assisting those who have fled persecution in their home countries is a hallmark of our pro bono work. From victims of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda to persecuted human rights activists in Cameroon and torture victims in Haiti, Sonnenschein has represented a wide variety of individuals. Through our work with organizations such as the Heartland Alliance, Human Rights Watch and the National Immigrant Justice Center, we annually represent pro bono clients from around the world in asylum proceedings. In each instance our lawyers put in long hours so that they can provide outstanding legal representation for those who fear that a return to their country of origin will result in death or imprisonment.
Representative Engagements
African Persecution Victims Win Asylum
Kesete Berhane's father was a prominent member of Eritrea's single-party government and worked in the country's Ministry of Information. That is, until he spoke out against government policies, including the country's war against Ethiopia and the arrests of various governmental officials. The elder Berhane was arrested and disappeared in 2002. Meanwhile, one of Kesete's brothers was detained by the government in 2006, and Kesete does not know whether his father and brother are still alive.
The story behind Kesete's recent political asylum victory in the United States is a harrowing one. Kesete was pressed into military service and forced labor after the disappearance of his father and brother. After nine months on an Eritrean military base, he and other soldiers were invited to share their opinions on living conditions at the camp, only to be imprisoned without charges when they spoke their minds. In prison, Kesete was regularly tortured by interrogators seeking incriminating information about his father and other members of the political opposition. After seven months of such detainment, Kesete, severely ill from the beatings and generally wretched conditions, broke out of the prison with two other prisoners and a guard and escaped to the Sudan.
After a difficult odyssey, Kesete reached the U.S., where he met a naturalized brother in California and a naturalized sister in Indiana. Bob Richards, John Bicks, Lisa Fain and Monika Machen worked with Kesete and his Tigrinya translators to assemble a comprehensive package in support of his asylum application, including affidavits and letters (some of which were translated), country condition reports, news articles, medical reports and other supporting documents, along with his application and personal statement and a cover letter detailing why Kesete met the legal standards for political asylum.
Kesete's application was recently approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service). Bob also attended the interview with Kesete and made a closing statement on his behalf at the interview. Difficult challenges remain for Kesete in reuniting with his wife, who is in hiding in the Eritrean countryside, and in learning the fate of his father and brother.
Kesete's four attorneys spend most of their time counseling companies in bankruptcy proceedings or, in Lisa's case, in labor and employment disputes. But Bob explained why it was so satisfying for them to work on Kesete's case. "It is a tremendous honor to help innocent victims of violence win back their dignity, along with a place of refuge where they can rebuild their lives. We are so pleased to have been able to help in this effort,"said Bob.
Bob also helped win political asylum recently on behalf of a Ugandan family, Christopher and Beatrice Odida and their son, Joshua, 7. Christopher, a member of his country's opposition political movement, the Forum for Democratic Change, experienced repeated torture and intimidation at the behest of the Ugandan government.
His asylum application described three incidents, including a final harrowing experience immediately before Christopher's departure for the United States, when an army commander ordered Christopher executed following several days of torture. But for the mercy of the soldier sent into the bush to carry out the execution, Christopher would have been killed.
In a letter to Bob, Christopher expressed immense gratitude for Bob's efforts: "It is people like you who make our world a better place, simply by taking the extra time to ensure that all are comfortable [and have] peace of mind. Thank you for an outstanding effort!"
Asylum Granted For Victim of Persecution in Burma
In his native Burma, Benjamin Tlung Loei was a member of not one, but two, persecuted minorities. Members of his Chin ethnic group and his religion, Christianity, have been oppressed by Burma's military junta since 1992. Mr. Tlung Loei himself was persecuted for many years before he fled to Thailand. From there, he traveled to Mexico and then to the United States, where he sought asylum.
Asylum was by no means assured for Mr. Tlung Loei because of accusations that he had provided "material support" to a terrorist organization in his home country. As a preacher in a small village, Mr. Tlung Loei had once provided fruit and water to members of the Chin National Front (CNF), an organization that sought to secure freedom for ethnic Chin people. In 2006, the Board of Immigration Appeals declared the CNF a terrorist organization.
With representation from Sonnenschein, Mr. Tlung Loei appeared at an asylum hearing in February 2006. Meanwhile, in October 2006, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an exception for Chin refugees who had provided material support to the CNF, enabling them to receive asylum.
Last September a judge granted asylum to our client. Although he said the U.S. government had met its burden to show that the CNF might be a terrorist organization, the judge said the government had failed to show that the fruit and water Mr. Tlung Loei provided constituted "material support."
Perseverance Brings Asylum for a Woman from Cameroon
In the case of asylum client Nathalie T., the perseverance of our lawyers made all the difference. Nathalie, a young woman from Cameroon, was granted asylum in the U.S. after surviving a series of harrowing experiences in her native country, including imprisonment and torture after she became active in a human rights group. Her abuse at the hands of the authorities continued even after her release from prison. Aided by her fellow human rights activists, she fled to the U.S., where—thanks in large part to the persistence of our Sonnenschein attorneys before a reluctant immigration judge—our pro bono client won asylum on grounds of political persecution.
The judge had been disinclined to rule on the asylum petition due to concern over one of the alternative grounds on which our team had based its case: the argument that women who are reluctant participants in a tribal practice of forced marriage form a protected “social group” and should be entitled to asylum. Although strongly supported by recent Second Circuit law, that position had no precedent in the Seventh Circuit. Rather than address this “social group” issue, the judge simply deferred and sought to close the case without ruling. Former associate Allison Willis “firmly but respectfully” refused to allow the judge to delay further,” said former Sonnenschein attorney Ed Rice, who led the legal team. Said Allison, “Working on such a meaningful case has been the highlight of my work at the firm.”
In the end, the judge dodged the issue of social group persecution and granted the asylum petition on alternative grounds of political persecution proposed by the team. Not wanting to create an adverse Seventh Circuit precedent, the government waived appeal. Allison represented Nathalie at her merits hearing last spring and did a masterful job drafting the legal briefs, preparing the witness to testify, and arguing the case in court. Sandra Hellestrae (CH) served as French-language translator and interpreter for Nathalie. But Sandra provided more than mechanical translation. She related to Nathalie with a warmth and sensitivity that helped Nathalie to talk openly about the unspeakable abuses that she had suffered.
“Winning a case is always rewarding,” remarked Ed. “But in asylum cases, where something far more valuable than money is at stake, winning takes on a whole different meaning.”
