Pro Bono Client Secures Permanent U.S. Residency

Paul, Weiss obtained permanent residence for a pro bono client, based on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). The SIJS statute protects vulnerable youth who have been abandoned, abused or neglected by one or both parents, and for whom a state court has declared it would not be in their best interest to be returned to their country of origin.

We met our clients, a young boy and his mother, during the firm’s family reunification efforts in El Paso, Texas in 2018. Mother and son escaped from dangerous conditions on the Belize/Guatemala border and arrived in the United States in May of that year. Shortly after their arrival, the U.S. government separated them; the mother was held in a detention center in El Paso, while her 14-year-old son was sent to a youth shelter in Chicago. In August 2018, Paul, Weiss teams traveled to El Paso to represent six parents who had yet to be released and reunified with their children despite the court order in Ms. L v. ICE. After successfully securing the release and reunification of those clients, Paul, Weiss continued representing this mother and son, who had settled nearby in New Jersey.

In 2019, Paul, Weiss filed a guardianship petition in the Family Part of the Superior Court of New Jersey in Camden County and won a motion for special findings, enabling the son to apply for SIJS, then permanent residency. The Paul, Weiss team also filed for employment authorization cards for both mother and son, which allowed them to have identification and work during the pendency of their applications for immigration status. The team continues to represent the mother in her immigration matter.

Over the course of the three-year representation, the Paul, Weiss team included ESG associate Lissette Duran. The team was supervised by litigation partner Liza Velazquez. Pro bono attorney Pradine Saint-Fort also provided invaluable support.