Pro bono attorneys helping Catholic Charities with Afghan asylum cases

"I am so pleased to see the legal community in Tulsa step up in such a big way. This is such a vital and urgent need. It is quite the tall task."

In August of 2021, when the U.S. military made its final withdrawal from the war in Afghanistan, the world was shocked by images of Afghan citizens trying to flee the country. As crowds of people packed into cargo planes, many hung on the airplanes’ wings in hopes of making their escape. Tens of thousands eventually made it to the United States, spread among military bases, 1,850 ultimately ended up in Oklahoma and 851 made their way to Tulsa…making Oklahoma the third largest home to Afghan refugees per capita.

Over the next eight months, Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma engaged the community to house, feed, clothe and acclimate these new neighbors to life in Tulsa. By April of 2022, long-term housing had been secured for every single one. The massive effort couldn’t have been accomplished without countless businesses, organizations, churches and individuals who went above and beyond to give them a solid start in the United States.

Now, almost a year later, Catholic Charities is helping with the next step in their resettlement journey – their path to permanent residency. Currently, under the status of “humanitarian parole”, each Afghan brought to the U.S. must now apply for either a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) or apply for asylum. SIV candidates are those who worked for the U.S. Government while in Afghanistan. This type of visa is difficult to obtain and typically only used if the refugee already applied for a visa while in Afghanistan. The most commonly used avenue is applying for asylum, which offers protection in the U.S. to those forced to flee their country for fear of persecution or harm, in this situation the Taliban. In Tulsa, more than 80% are asylum cases because even though they were helping the U.S. government, most did not start the SIV process before fleeing Afghanistan.

Catholic Charities knew their current Immigration Legal Services program didn’t have the capacity to take on the increased case load created by the Afghan crisis. Under the leadership of Kojo Asamoa-Caesar, a group of pro bono attorneys was recruited to manage the process for each refugee family to apply for asylum. Kojo’s innovative one day training for attorneys is now being recognized by legal communities across the nation because of its success rate at connecting Afghans to proper representation.

“Soon our new neighbors will be granted asylum and will gain the accompanying peace of mind that comes from the legal path to permanent residency. Then, they can build their new lives and pursue their enduring dreams here in Tulsa.”

“CCEOK was the first to develop training program like this,” said Asamoa-Caesar. “Since then, national partners have developed very succinct and comprehensive trainings specifically for pro bono attorneys serving Afghans.” 

In Tulsa, 69 attorneys have donated almost 1,200 hours of legal work to date to the project. With the help of the University of Tulsa School of Law, the 265 families were screened to determine which legal path fit each case. Special Immigrant Visa cases were assigned to the YWCA and asylum cases assigned to Catholic Charities. For each of the 220 asylum cases, a pro bono attorney was assigned and the process of filing a petition began. Within 45 days of filing, an interview is scheduled in Fort Smith, Arkansas, with an Asylum Officer at United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). The result of the interview is typically received within 150 days.

Kojo says the goal is to file all 220 petitions by the middle of 2023. “I am so pleased to see the legal community in Tulsa step up in such a big way,” he said. “This is such a vital and urgent need. It is quite the tall task.“

Thus far, there has been a 95% success rate across the country for asylum petitions for Afghans. If a case is denied asylum, there is an opportunity to go before a judge in immigration court in Dallas. If asylum is still denied, the family will be removed from the U.S.

When not in a law conference room, Kojo is often found on Zoom seminars speaking about this unique and successful program. He takes great pride in sharing with others what is happening here at Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma. “Soon our new neighbors will be granted asylum and will gain the accompanying peace of mind that comes from the legal path to permanent residency,” he says with a smile. “Then, they can build their new lives and pursue their enduring dreams here in Tulsa.”  

A huge thank you to GableGotwals, Conner & Winters, Doerner Saunders, McAfee & Taft, Frederic Dorwart, Rhodes Heironymus, University of Tulsa School of Law and many individual attorneys who have donated their time and expertise to this important project. Together, we are Love Changing Lives!

For more information on our Immigration Legal Services program, visit cceok.org/immigration.