Refugee

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Last week, Proskauer’s Chicago office, in partnership with HSBC Bank (HSBC), hosted a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) clinic to assist 12 pro bono clients with preparing their DACA renewal applications.

The DACA program provides eligible, undocumented immigrants who came to the United States before the age of 16 with a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation, along with work authorization and the ability to apply for a social security number.  While the United States government is not currently accepting DACA applications from new enrollees, individuals who are currently on deferred action status can re-apply to maintain their status.

When can domestic violence form the basis of a successful asylum claim?  A New York City immigration judge recently granted asylum to one of our pro bono clients who was found to have suffered past persecution on account of her membership in a particular social group—that of “Honduran women in a common law marriage who are unable to leave the relationship.”  This result is consistent with recent authority establishing that an asylum claim can, depending on the particular facts and circumstances, be grounded upon the inability to leave an abusive domestic relationship.