Roberto came to the United States 20 years ago and built a life here - he owned a small business, had three U.S. citizen children, and was deeply involved in his community. When ICE arrested him at a routine check-in, his world fell apart.
Roberto was placed in removal proceedings and faced deportation despite his deep ties to the United States. His family contacted our firm in a panic. We immediately entered our appearance, obtained a bond, and began building his defense.
We developed a multi-pronged strategy: arguing for prosecutorial discretion, demonstrating exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to his U.S. citizen children, and showing his positive equities including community ties and business ownership.
In immigration court, we presented compelling testimony from Roberto, his children, teachers, clergy members, and community leaders. We submitted extensive documentary evidence of his contributions to the community and the devastating impact removal would have on his family.
After two hearings, the immigration judge granted our motion to terminate proceedings based on prosecutorial discretion and the compelling equities in Roberto's case. We immediately filed a family-based petition through his U.S. citizen daughter who had turned 21.