A San Francisco Chronicle report featured Keker, Van Nest & Peters partner Erin Meyer and associate Jonhatan Aragon’s quick action in securing the release and return of a Colombian asylum seeker.
Meyer took the case after the distraught brother of the asylum seeker entered Keker’s lobby asking for help when his sister was arrested outside her immigration hearing at a San Francisco courthouse.
Meyer enlisted Aragon’s assistance before racing to file a habeas corpus petition. A federal judge granted their client’s release, but not before ICE officials flew her to a detention facility in Honolulu. Meyer and Aragon successfully negotiated with ICE for their client’s return.
This case is one of several dozen in San Francisco since May, when the practice of arrests began outside of immigration court hearings.
“The Trump administration’s unprecedented tactic of arresting people after they show up to immigration hearings in compliance with the federal government’s requirement has scared many people seeking asylum through legal immigration channels,” the article said.
Bay Area immigration attorneys are increasingly using “habeas corpus” to free immigrants arrested outside of their hearings. Attorneys have pointed to Supreme Court rulings that the government is only allowed to hold someone in immigration detention if they’re a flight risk or a danger to the community.
Meyer said many private law firms fear taking on pro bono immigration work because of the Trump administration. But she said she wasn’t deterred “for a millisecond.”
Read more at the San Francisco Chronicle. (subscription required)
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