Goldman Ismail Secures Asylum for Client Who Escaped Persecution in Honduras

On September 15, 2022, the Chicago Immigration Court granted our client’s application for asylum based on past and feared future persecution in Honduras, her country of origin. After arriving in the United States, our client filed for asylum alleging years of abuse at the hands of a violent Honduran gang. Goldman Ismail undertook the representation pro bono in February 2016, in collaboration with attorneys from the National Immigrant Justice Center. Over the course of several years, the Firm’s attorneys and staff conducted the painstaking work of interviewing the client and her family and friends in Honduras, preparing affidavits, retaining an expert on conditions in Honduras, and ultimately submitting briefing, expert reports, and several hundred pages of documentation supporting our client’s request for asylum and alternative relief.

The Firm’s team presented the case to the Immigration Court at a full hearing, including fact and expert testimony, and argument. The Immigration Court’s decision represents a complete victory for our client, who was found to have testified credibly and to have presented compelling evidence of past and future persecution based on membership in multiple particular social groups. Goldman Ismail is proud to have provided this service to our client, who has two young children with special needs and looks forward to completing her education, becoming a nurse, and ultimately earning American citizenship.

Goldman Ismail attorneys Rami Fakhouri, Michael Pieja, and Symone Shinton represented our client throughout the proceedings, assisted by paralegals Elizabeth Villa, Patty Ramos, and Laura Mulligan.