Holland & Knight Team Secures Rare Asylum Grant as Approval Rates Hit Historic Low

Dallas attorneys Justin Cohen and Morgan Delabar were interviewed by The Texas Lawbook about their success in a pro bono case securing asylum for a Honduran mother and her son. The family had suffered violent attacks by a gang trying to acquire land inherited from Honduras' government under the country's Agrarian Reform Law; gang members killed the family's patriarch and shot its oldest son in the head, among other incidents. Each time, the family reported the violence to authorities, but officials took no action. The immigration judge overseeing the case said this history made it clear the gang would inflict harm on the family if it returned to Honduras, satisfying one prong – finding of past persecution or well-founded fear of future persecution – to claim asylum. The judge concluded the family's case also met the requirements of persecution based on membership of a particular social group and inability or unwillingness from the Honduran government to protect its members. The outcome marked a rare instance in which a judge granted asylum, in particular because proving a family relationship generally is insufficient to establish membership in a particular social group. Mr. Cohen and Ms. Delabar said even as experienced litigators, the case pushed them outside their comfort zone, not only because it drew them away from the realm of intellectual property but also because of what was at stake during their representation.

"This was one of my most emotional and hardest cases," Mr. Cohen told The Texas Lawbook. "It just felt like the stakes were really high. Our clients were very deserving."

"If it didn't go well, I think I would think about them every day for forever," Ms. Delabar added.

READ: Holland & Knight Team Secures Rare Asylum Grant as Approval Rates Hit Historic Low

Attorneys Lauren Becker and Jordan Paine also worked on the case alongside Mr. Cohen and Ms. Delabar.