Following the 2021 military withdrawal from Afghanistan, the U.S. government evacuated thousands of Afghans to the United States but has not yet provided the evacuees with a clear path to permanent legal status. There are more than 1,800 Afghan refugees in Michigan.The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC) has been recruiting attorneys through the state to provided pro bono assistance to Afghani refugees in Michigan with their Asylum application. On May 18, 2022, the New Americans Legal Clinic hosted an Afghan Asylum Clinic in Holland, MI. Two attorneys from the Troy office of Fragomen, Christian Dallman and Megan Blanford took part in clinic put on by Lighthouse Immigration Advocates (LIA) and Southwest Detroit Immigrant and Refugee Center (SWIRC).At the clinic, attorneys interviewed clients and helped them fill out their Asylum application. Attorney involvement is vital to maximize the clients' chance of a successful Asylum application, ultimately leading to the right to permanently remain in the U.S.

Photo: l-r- Christian Dallman, Megan Blanford and Samuel Filcik, the Asylum attorney for LIA’s New Americans Legal Clinic in Holland. Photo courtesy of Fragomen.

Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP is a leading law firm dedicated exclusively to immigration services worldwide. Fragomen has worked with community partners to apply for Humanitarian Parole for Afghans who were not able to evacuate. Additionally, the firm has represented Afghan translators for the armed forces in their Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) process, Afghan academics, and volunteered on military bases hosting Afghan families. Fragomen will also continue to participate in nationwide Asylum projects, such as its recent partnership with a Law School Clinic to prepare asylum applications.Attorneys who are interested in volunteering should contact MIRC at afghanprobono@michiganimmigrant.org. MIRC is also looking for non-attorney volunteers to assist with the process; interested individuals should visit: https://lia-michigan.org/get-involved/volunteer or https://detimmigrantcenter.com/volunteer.