Page 10 - Katten 2021 Pro Bono Annual Review

Refugees Fleeing Domestic Violence Find Shelter, New Beginnings

When understanding why people flee their home countries,
sometimes the answers lie close to home.

Working with a woman severely abused by her daughter’s violence to show that their client would not be protected in
father, a team of associates and paralegals won a particu- Honduras if she was forced to return, and that her fears of
larly noteworthy asylum claim. The case was challenging for what would happen if she returned were reasonable.
many reasons, including that several years had passed since
the client had been abused. Her claim for asylum needed to Finally, Katten’s team relied on prior Katten asylum work
rest on her membership in a “particular social group” (such before the same judge to persuade her to grant their client
as religion, political opinion or sexual orientation), and the asylum based on the argument that she belonged to the
Katten team struggled to get the client to testify as an “family” of the abuser. Katten’s argument was remarkable,
effective witness. considering that the client and the abuser were never mar-
ried, and, in a prior decision, former Attorney General
The case, referred by the National Immigrant Justice William Barr rejected “family” as a social group under the
Center, was handled by several Katten attorney and para- law for asylum.
legals, including Litigation associates Britt DeVaney and
Sarah Scruton.

Attorneys spent many hours over several months gather-
ing the client’s testimony and marshalling the legal
support for her case. They also relied on expert
testimony from a domestic violence coun-
selor and an expert on how Honduran
authorities fail to address domestic

West African Man Persecuted by Family
Because of Sexual Orientation Wins Asylum

In January, Chicago attorneys successfully helped a gay man from Cote D’Ivoire win
asylum in the United States. The man fled to Chicago in December 2019 after his
family imprisoned and beat him because of his sexual orientation.
Financial Markets Litigation and Enforcement partner J. Matthew Haws, Litigation associate Shannon
Gross and former Intellectual Property associate Guylaine Haché received the case from the National
Immigrant Justice Center.

Despite language barriers and newly imposed restrictions on in-person meetings, the team was able to
interview the client, gather materials and draft an asylum application. Even with significant delays from
the asylum office due to the pandemic, the petition was successful, and the client was granted asylum in
January and now lives safely in the United States.

“It was the high point of my year to learn our client’s asylum application was granted, and I still beam
when I think of it. I look forward to helping others in the future,” Shannon said.

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