Litigation Team Secures Favorable Result in Pro Bono Ninth Circuit Immigration Appeal

A Ropes & Gray litigation team, in partnership with the National Immigrant Justice Center, recently obtained a second chance for a gay 31-year old Salvadoran woman to remain in the United States following an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Our client grew up in a conservative community in which LGBT individuals were routinely mistreated. In 2009, she attempted to enter the United States but was ordered removed. She returned to El Salvador and after attempting to re-enter the United States, an immigration judge ruled that she was not permitted to apply for asylum because of agency regulations that prohibited applications for asylum by aliens who had previously been removed.

After the Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed the judge’s decision, Ropes & Gray took on the matter.  The government agreed to give our client a new hearing before an immigration judge, who will be obligated to consider her for both withholding of removal and asylum.

The Ropes & Gray team was supervised by San Francisco-based partner Rocky Tsai and included associates Matthew McGinnis, Samuel Brenner and Idin Kashefipour.