September 14, 2010

Paul, Weiss Wins Immigration Asylum for Pro Bono Client

On September 8, Paul, Weiss and Immigration Equality obtained political asylum for a Panamanian man who had been harassed and mistreated by Panamanian police and private citizens because he was gay. Our client, who first arrived in the United States nearly 25 years ago, had recently been detained while returning to the United States and placed into removal proceedings, at which time he filed for asylum. The immigration judge found his testimony and that of his life partner to be credible, and ruled that he had a well-founded fear that he would be subjected to persecution on the basis of his sexual orientation if he were forced to return to Panama. The Paul, Weiss team included litigation partner Robbie Kaplan, associates Richard Eisenberg and Dominika Tarczynska; former associate Sipoura Barzideh; and paralegals Melodie Eastmond and Paula Lopez.