Schulte Obtains Permanent Residence for Pro Bono Asylum Client

In 2014, a Schulte pro bono client fled Honduras with her children in the middle of the night. She had been a domestic violence victim and, earlier that evening, gangs who attempted to extort money from her fired rifles into her house. Schulte litigators took on her case with assistance from Human Rights First and marshaled country-conditions evidence, presented expert testimony and cited recent asylum decisions in a hearing in New York Immigration Court. The argument was so powerful the judge granted the client asylum from the bench, and the government waived its right to appeal. Thereafter, Schulte lawyers helped the client apply for legal permanent residence, and she and her children received green cards. The family will be able to naturalize as U.S. citizens in just four more years, secure in the new life they have built in New York City.

Litigation associate Noah Gillespie led the firm’s pro bono effort in the case, supervised by partner and litigation co-chair Michael Swartz.