In 1990, IA, a national of Somalia, filed chargers against government soldiers who murdered his uncle. As a result, he was accused of being an anti-government reactionary, despite his lack of involvement in politics. IA was held for a week in an underground cell, where he was beaten and tortured. He was then transferred to a military camp, where he spent eight months doing hard labor. When he was released, he continued to be harassed; at one point a group of men broke into IA's home and attempted to kill him. His life was saved when neighbors intervened and chased the men away.
IA escaped to the U.S. on a tourist visa in 1992. He overstayed his visa and has been living in the U.S. ever since. In 2010, he was detained by immigration authorities and held at Rappahannock Regional Jail, where CAIR Coalition first met him. After completing an initial intake, CAIR Coalition placed his case with Georgetown Law's Center for Applied Legal Studies where he was assisted by law students Wendy Crompton and Christina Donnelly.
In an effort to present the best possible case for IA, Ms. Crompton and Ms. Donnelly secured the services of a pro bono psychologist with Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (ASTT), who conducted a pro bono mental health evaluation of IA over CAIR Coalition's video teleconference (VTC) link to the jail. ASTT continued to provide him free psychological services over VTC for the duration of IA’s detention. Because of a prior criminal conviction, IA's was ineligible for asylum, but Ms. Crompton and Ms. Donnelly succeeded in winning IA deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).
Ms. Crompton and Ms. Donnelly collaborated with Hannah Kane, CAIR Coalition social work intern from George Mason University, to help IA make a smooth transition out of detention. IA has continued to receive psychological services from ASTT, and is now able to see his psychologist at her office. IA was referred for substance abuse services to Fairfax County Alcohol and Drug Services, which has referred him to a 30-day in-patient substance abuse recovery program. IA has remained clean and sober since his release, but he is excited at the opportunity to complete the rehab program and continue on his path towards recovery. He is now awaiting his employment authorization.
According to Ms. Crompton and Ms. Donelly, "Watching as [IA] has transitioned back to life outside of prison has been nothing short of inspirational. We’ve never seen a person so happy to be free and so ready to change his life for the better. It is not unusual to get a phone call from him, just to remind us how grateful he is for the work we did and to proudly reassure us that he is clean, happy, and in full compliance with his probation and ICE requirements."
While working on IA's case brought the pair their fair share of challenges, they nonetheless agree that the professional experience of representing IA in immigration court and through the post-order transition process has been invaluable. Both concur that “the opportunity to make a difference in the life of a very good, very deserving person” outweighed any of the difficulties they faced in presenting IA’s case.
