February 10, 2021
A Weil pro bono team has secured the release of our client, an asylum applicant from Honduras, who had been held for months in immigration detention, while the result of his immigration proceedings remains pending on appeal.
Our client, now an adult, fled Honduras as a young teenager to escape a powerful Honduran gang who targeted him for his public stance against their corrupt political hegemony. After our client was detained in the United States following a traffic stop, Weil won deferral of his removal under the Convention Against Torture by showing in immigration court the likelihood of harm to him if removed to Honduras. Despite the immigration court’s order, ICE continued to detain our client rather than release him to his family, for which he is the primary caregiver of a disabled child.
Weil submitted a demand for our client’s release pending resolution of his appeal on the basis that he did not pose any risk of flight or danger to the community if freed, that he was at heightened health risk from COVID-19 due to his medical history, and that he was needed as the primary caregiver of his disabled child. Weil obtained our client’s release from custody, and he was thrilled to be able to rejoin his family ̶ just in time for the holidays.
Associates Becki Steinberg, Intisarul Islam and Ian Hawkes led the matter, supervised by partner Theodore E. Tsekerides.