Mistakes happen. But when US immigration authorities commit mistakes, the result can be family separation, wrongful deportation, and even death.
Thanks to the quick work of APA’s main attorney volunteer, Erika Kreider, one such tragedy has likely been averted. Erika had helped “Cristian,” from Venezuela, apply for Temporary Protected Status and work authorization. But after she also helped him file a motion to remove his case from the immigration court docket, the judge instead ordered the man’s removal for failing to show up for a hearing that the court itself had rescheduled for a later date.
Erika immediately drafted a motion to undo the removal order and get the case back on track. The judge granted the motion. Without legal help, the man was at risk of immediate deportation to the country he had fled, despite his eligibility for a legal benefit authorized by Congress.
[Note to Josie. The only slight stretch above is that we can’t honestly represent that THIS man is at risk of death if deported. To the extent that the blurb above implies that he is, it is misleading. This is one of the cases for which we provided legal services but which we did not fund for representation]