Kramer Levin Wins Appeal for Colombian Veteran

Kramer Levin won an appeal from the denial of asylum for a Colombian man who was targeted for recruitment by a criminal and terrorist organization because he was a veteran of the Colombian military. Our client began receiving death threats after resisting these recruiting efforts. At about this time, our client’s close friend, who was also a veteran of the Colombian military, was shot in the chest after turning down a similar invitation by the same organization. Fleeing for his life, our client entered the United States in July 2015 and was taken into custody at the border. While detained and without counsel, our client claimed asylum and sought withholding of removal under the United Nations Convention Against Torture (“CAT”) due to his fear that he would be killed by the organization that attempted to recruit him and his friend. Despite finding him “a very credible witnesses,” the Immigration Judge denied relief, holding that our client could not establish membership in the protected group of former members of the Colombian military, since “the real reason” he was recruited was that he had also worked as a security guard.

Kramer Levin successfully argued to the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) that the Immigration Judge’s denial of relief was an error because it misapplied controlling precedent and failed to account for much of the record evidence. On March 11, 2016, the BIA issued a written decision holding that “the Immigration Judge’s determination that the respondent failed to prove the necessary nexus to his membership in a particular social group was not considered under the correct standard.” Accordingly, the BIA remanded the record to the Immigration Judge for the entry of a new decision. The BIA also instructed the Immigration Judge to reexamine whether our client had been subjected to persecution in Colombia, and to reconsider our client’s application for withholding of removal under the applicable legal standard. Benjamin Arrow was the lead attorney on the appeal, and Aaron Frankel supervised the case. The appeal was referred to Kramer Levin through Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (“CLINIC”).

This appeal is the latest in a string of Kramer Levin appellate victories before the BIA. As a result of the firm’s commitment to asylum appeals, CLINIC has selected Kramer Levin to receive its annual pro bono award at its upcoming 2016 Convocation in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Kramer Levin team was led by Litigation associate Benjamin M. Arrow and Intellectual Property special counsel Aaron Frankel.