Bond Granted for First Afghan Soldier: Major Jan Arash, In a Contested Bond Hearing Over DHS Opposition

Matthew Borowski successfully argued a bond motion for Major Jan Arash today and the judge granted a $25,000.00 bond, over the opposition of DHS. We are glad a bond was granted, but it is an exceptionally high bond especially considering that Major Arash entered the country legally and has a strong claim for asylum.

We need your financial support to get Major Arash out of detention. Please consider donating. If we reach our goal of $25,000.00 we can bond Major Arash out of detention and greatly increase his chances of gaining asylum.

Borowski Law will be seeking bond for the other two soldiers, Captain Aminyar and Captain Askarzadeh, on October 22.

More coverage and information will be posted to the Afghan Soldiers blog. Visit the Afghan Soldiers blog and donation page at http://afghansoldiers.com/

WIVB CBS News 4 Interviews Matthew Borowski Regarding Afghan Soldiers

Buffalo Immigration Lawyer Matthew Borowski  was interviewed on September 26, 2014 by WIVB CBS News 4 regarding the three Afghan soldiers who left their training exercise in Cape Cod and allegedly crossed over the Canadian border.

Watch Matthew Borowski on CBS News 4 (WIVB) discussing Afghan soldiers' Immigration Case 

 

Deportation Case Terminated Due to Successful Post-Conviction Motion

We just won another deportation case! Our client had an aggravated felony conviction (drug trafficking) that made him ineligible for most forms of relief from deportation. We pursued post conviction relief in state court and we were able to re-open his case so he no longer had a final criminal conviction. It was a long road and a lot of hard work, but we did it. Last week we filed a Motion to Terminate in the Batavia Immigration Court and our client was released from detention yesterday. He is now home with his family, and we're preparing to fight the next round in the battle (ensuring his conviction doesn't stick, so ICE won't be able to put him back into removal proceedings.)

The reality is that I can't win every single deportation case -- sometimes the facts are just stacked against us. Not every case results in a happy ending, no matter how hard we try. When we can get a case terminated and reunite a family, it's a good day in the life of an immigration lawyer, and it makes the hard work worth it in the end.

New BIA Precedents Modify the Law on "Particular Social Groups" in Asylum Cases

The BIA issued two new decisions on February 7, 2014 which may have a profound effect on asylum claims.

An applicant for asylum or withholding of removal seeking relief based on “membership in a particular social group” must establish that the group is (1) composed of members who share a common immutable characteristic, (2) defined with particularity, and (3) socially distinct within the society in question. (3) An applicant has the burden of demonstrating not only the existence of a cognizable particular social group and his membership in that particular social group, but also a risk of persecution “on account of” his membership in that group.

The new wording requires a showing that the individual's membership in that particular social group makes him or her "socially distinct" within the society in question. The previous requirement was "social visibility" which was being applied by many immigration judges to require the group to be noticeably visible in society -- what the BIA has now termed "ocular visibility" (ocular being that which is connected to the eyes or vision).

The new precedent decisions from the BIA are beneficial as they clarify that groups which may not be visible out on the streets - such as closeted gay men - can be considered members of particular social groups for asylum purposes. Under the new precedents, whether a social group is recognized for asylum purposes is determined by the perception of the society in question, rather than by the perception of the persecutor.

The cases are Matter of W-G-R- and  Matter of M-E-V-G-.