Holwell Shuster & Goldberg Secures Pro Bono Win for Asylum Seeker

New York – HSG recently secured a pro bono win on behalf of an asylum seeker from El Salvador, who had been forcibly separated from her minor son at the southern border in 2019. She appeared to be eligible for relief as part of a class settlement entered by the U.S. government in connection with a challenge to its family separation policy, but the U.S. government initially denied her application based on an incorrect assumption that she had a disqualifying criminal conviction. 

HSG appealed that decision, with HSG associate Victoria Roeck gathering evidence from El Salvador showing that the client did not have a disqualifying criminal conviction and otherwise met the criteria for relief under the class settlement. The government reversed its determination, and she can now apply for parole status and work authorization in the United States.