Twenty-eight-year-old HF has lived in the United States for over 20 years. He was born in Sudan but moved to the United States at age two because his father, a diplomat in the Sudanese government, was assigned to work at the Sudanese embassy in the United States. After a military coup, the new al-Bashir led government closed the embassy and recalled all of its employees to Sudan. HF and his family returned to Sudan, but soon after, HF’s father fled back to the United States because al-Bashir detained and tortured many of his superiors who had also worked for the former government. As an employee of the former government as well, HF’s father feared he would face the same fate. Soon thereafter, HF’s father HF, HF’s mother, and siblings applied and were approved for asylum in the United States .
HF has since gone to middle school, graduated from high school, and attended community college in the United States. HF found himself in removal proceedings because he made a terrible mistake. When he was pulled over for improperly changing lanes, he told the police officer he was his brother because he did not currently have his own license. He was subsequently arrested and agreed to plead guilty to using his brother’s driver’s license, resulting in a two year sentence, with all but two weeks of it suspended.
HF, who was deeply remorseful for what he had done, and for the pain he had caused his family, complied with all the terms of his probation and was focused on completing his education when he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, plunging HF and his family into a nightmare. Because HF was not a United States citizen, his conviction for a relatively minor, non-violent offense made him deportable. HF had no idea when he pleaded guilty that he might be forced to return to Sudan, the country his family had fled over two decades before.
Detained at the Farmville Detention Center in October 2012, HR grew increasingly despondent and was at the point of giving up and agreeing to return to the Sudan despite his fears about what he would face there. “When I was detained, before I had to the opportunity to talk to CAIR [Coalition], I didn’t want to pursue my case. I just wanted to go back to Sudan and risk it. I had heard stories from a lot of people pursuing their cases and how it took months and all the while being detained and how hard it would be to fight my case by myself. After I talked to CAIR [Coalition] I was given the confidence to pursue the case and that I could possibly win the case,” said HF.
Caroline Solis, a New York University Legal Fellow at CAIR Coalition, conducted HR’s initial intake and also represented HR before the immigration court under the supervision of CAIR Coalition supervising attorney Claudia Cubas. On February 11, 2012, Caroline successfully argued that HF was deserving of a discretionary grant of a refugee waiver so he could adjust his status to become a legal permanent resident. HF’s family picked him up from Farmville that night, and HF is now focusing on getting a job and completing his college education.
For Caroline, the case was an important affirmation of why she went to law school. “Being able to take on HF’s case was so rewarding. When I met him at Farmville on a jail visit, I saw how hopeless he felt. Knowing that I was able to make such a positive difference in this one person’s life made me confident that I had made the right decision to go to law school and pursue a job in immigration law.”
