GA is one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan,” a title given to the tens of thousands of young boys from the Nuer and Dinka ethnic groups who were displaced or orphaned due to ongoing warfare and persecution in Sudan.
GA is a Christian member of the Dinka tribe. When he was nine years old, the Janjaweed attacked his village, and as GA fled he was separated from his family. GA walked for months to reach a refugee camp in Ethiopia, from which he was also displaced by fighting. GA eventually fled to Kenya where he lived in a refugee camp for nine years until he was granted refugee status and arrived in the United States. GA later became to a legal permanent resident.
The severe trauma GA had suffered as a young child negatively impacted his ability to adjust to life in the United States. He eventually became homeless and was arrested several times for minor offenses. He was detained by ICE in December 2010 and put into removal proceedings. CAIR Coalition met with GA soon after and placed his case with Nancy Hull and Karthik Nagarajan of White & Case. GA spent the next year in detention as Ms. Hull and Mr. Nagarajan fought to keep him from being deported.
Ms. Hull and Mr. Nagarajan faced challenges in GA’s case because of the changing country conditions in South Sudan. The immigration court hearing, originally scheduled for the week prior to South Sudan’s Independence Day, was ultimately delayed and took place one month after independence.
The government argued that GA no longer faced any harm if he was deported given South Sudan’s newly won independence. GA’s pro bono attorneys succeeded in locating an expert who refuted the government’s assertion that GA would now be safe in South Sudan. The expert’s testimony proved to be a critical factor in the Immigration Judge’s decision to grant Withholding of Removal.
After GA was granted relief, Ms. Hull and Mr. Nagarajan collaborated with Hannah Kane, CAIR Coalition’s first Masters of Social Work intern from George Mason University, in order to secure social services for GA and to help him make a smooth reentry into society.
GA was taken to an emergency shelter in Arlington, with a referral for a transitional housing program for ex-offenders. GA was also referred to Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR) of Arlington County, located within walking distance to the shelter, and which provides reentry services, including transportation assistance, employment services, emergency food and clothing, and social service referrals. GA has received his employment authorization document and is eager to begin working again.
According to Ms. Hull and Mr. Nagarajan, “Working on [GA’s] case served as an eye-opener to us on the challenges faced by non-citizens trying to navigate the U.S. immigration system. Personally, both of us were thankful that we were able to assist [GA} with CAIR's [Coalition’s] active support, in securing his freedom. Professionally, we greatly benefitted from the experience of working directly with a client to present his story to the Immigration Judge both in our legal brief and in testimony at the oral hearing… This was an educational and very rewarding experience for both of us.”
CAIR Coalition is very grateful to Ms. Hull and Mr. Nagarajan for their tireless efforts on behalf of GA.
