Seeking a Safe Haven
Political asylum is a global issue and DLA Piper lawyers regularly take on cases of asylum seekers from around the world. DLA Piper lawyers regularly represent clients seeking asylum. . For example, the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition in Washington, DC referred Mrs B, a Guinean engineer, to DLA Piper. Beaten and hospitalised when she objected to a second daughter undergoing genital mutilation, she fled to America. DLA Piper argued that Mrs B’s application for political asylum was based on her membership of a group of women who hold a minority political opinion. Mother and daughter were ‘recommended for approval’ and could begin their new lives.
In another case, Ms P was an 18-year-old Haitian seeking asylum in New York. Her father had been head of security for two United States Ambassadors to Haiti and for interim Haitian President Boniface Alexander. Because of these high-profile positions, the Lavalas, a political gang loyal to former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, targeted Ms P and her family. After a four-hour hearing before a United States Immigration Judge, Ms P was granted asylum.