MoProBono - Spring 2018 Update

12 MoProBono Spring 2018 Our team in San Diego won a hard- fought victory in one of the most unusual and complex asylum cases we have ever taken on. The presiding judge described it as a “mysterious” and “extraordinary” story of “questionable . . . plausibility,” yet found it credible after hearing corroborating expert testimony. Our client, a Mexican national, traveled to Iran under the pretext of learning about Islam, but his more earnest goal was to investigate and record evidence of Iranian cyberwarfare capabilities. Although he found no such evidence, he serendipitously discovered terrorist- run religious schools designed to indoctrinate Latin American youth with anti-American sentiment. While he escaped Iran shortly after authorities discovered his spying equipment, Iranian agents, including the former Iranian ambassador to Mexico, harassed him on his return to Mexico with threats of Iranian prosecution. The Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and other law enforcement agencies vetted his claim extensively for a period of six years before his case reached immigration court. Ultimately, he prevailed, as our team persuaded the judge to grant our client asylum. Associates Christian Andreu-von Euw and Samuel Cortina led the case, with assistance from senior paralegal Lisa Shunkwiler. FANTASTIC. MYSTERIOUS. BORDERLINE IMPLAUSIBLE. [Our client] serendipitously discovered terrorist-run religious schools designed to indoctrinate Latin American youth with anti-American sentiment.