In May of 2024, a Tucson Immigration Judge granted asylum to “Tarik,” a young man from Afghanistan who feared persecution as a member of an ethnic and religious minority group. The man, who also feared persecution because his father, killed in a bombing before the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August of 2021, had been in the Afghan government and received training from the U.S. military. Tarik had sought refuge in Iran in 2022 but was unable to obtain legal status there.
APA volunteer attorney Erika Kreider had screened Tarik’s case in June of 2023, and Pamela Rioles Saeed had accepted it for a low fee, paid in full by APA. Ms. Saeed overcame the government’s attorney’s claims that Tarik was “firmly resettled” in another country he passed through on his way here and that there was no “well-founded fear” of persecution because he had some family members in the home country who were unharmed. But when the judge granted asylum, the government waived its right to appeal, so the order of asylum is final.
Tarik is thrilled and relieved that he no longer has to fear death at the hands of the Taliban. Next year, he may file for permanent residence and four years later, he may petition to become a US citizen.