Justice Center News
The Justice Center News blog features our advocacy on issues affecting low-income New Yorkers today and the latest CBJC happenings. For press releases, click here. For publications, click here.
2011 Refugee Assistance Highlights
by CBJC Staff January 27, 2012
In 2011, 28 individuals from countries including Chad, China, Colombia, Mauritania, Mexico, Nepal, Tibet, and Ukraine, were granted asylum or other immigration relief in the U.S. through the efforts of pro bono attorneys working with the Refugee Assistance Project at the City Bar Justice Center.
Two notable cases, on behalf of clients from the Ivory Coast and Mexico, illustrate the types of issues the Justice Center’s volunteer attorneys handle. Aileen McGill and Stephanie Teplin from Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP represented a young man who had fled Mexico after years of threats and violence due to his sexual orientation. The Patterson team was able to highlight the reality of cultural and social conditions in Mexico, in contrast to recent pro-LGBT legislative accomplishments that they argued are as yet only paper tigers, and win asylum for their client in October.
Morgan Clark, Kristin McNamara Pauley, Nicole Naples and Mei Lin Kwan-Gett from Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP represented a client who had been subjected to female genital mutilation as a child and fled the Ivory Coast to escape a forced marriage. Soon after arriving in the United States, she was diagnosed with HIV and then eventually AIDS. With the help of her Willkie team, the client was able to overcome a difficult 11-year filing deadline issue and win asylum in December.
Recent posts
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April 19, 2024
Statement of the Executive Director of the City Bar Justice Center Opposing IOLA Diversion and the Undermining of Complementary Public Service Programs
The City Bar Justice Center strongly opposes the inclusion in the FY2024-25 New York State budget of an eleventh-h...
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April 18, 2024
Corporate Transparency Act: What Small Businesses Need to Know
This article will break down the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which went into effect on January 1, 2024, that...
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April 9, 2024
The City Bar Justice Center’s 2024 Gala Celebrates Pro Bono Around the World, Raising Nearly $1.2 Million to Support New Yorkers in Need
On Wednesday, April 3, 2024, the City Bar Justice Center held its 19th Annual Gala, Pro Bono for Our World, at the...
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