2 minute read
Sometimes, The Wheels of Justice Turn Too Quickly
Jessica Sharpe
Jessica Sharpe was asked to assist a man with an urgent immigration issue. He had legal resident status but had been placed into removal proceedings by ICE after being arrested for possession of marijuana. The client was Eritrean and was struggling with PTSD, job loss during the pandemic and addiction issues. He grew up on the Eritrean and Ethiopian border during the country’s last war. He was orphaned at just 12 years of age. The Ethiopian army invaded his village and gave him food and water. When the Eritreans saw him accept support, they accused him of being an Ethiopian sympathizer. They tortured him and tried to subscript him into the army as a child soldier. He managed to escape to a refugee camp with his siblings where he obtained refugee status and came to the United States. Once here, he attended high school and found a job. During the pandemic, after he lost his job, he started to struggle. He was arrested for non-violent drug possession charges in South Dakota and was eventually put in deportation proceedings for marijuana possession.
Jessica helped him apply for a 42-B waiver and withholding of removal. The 42-B waiver cancels removal for legal residents. It is a one-time option and based on the judge’s discretion. Right before his hearing, war broke out between Ethiopia and Eritrea for a second time. As Jessica worked on the brief, there were alerts about skirmishes and possible massacres between Eritrea and Ethiopia. These reports made it even more important for the client not to be forced to return to the war-torn country he left as a child.
At his hearing, the client testified that he had gotten into trouble because of his addiction and PTSD. He had already started attending a twelve-step program while in jail. He also testified that he had hopes of becoming a barber and had already started cutting the hair of everyone in the county jail, including his own, which was well-groomed at the hearing. The judge was sympathetic and fully aware of the impeding war in Eritrea. She reiterated that he needed to continue attending treatment, which he agreed to do, then she granted his 42-B waiver. The client was released from custody the next day, relieved he was given a second chance and grateful for the assistance for his pro bono lawyers. Jessica was assisted by a colleague at another firm and lawyers at Advocates for Human Rights.
