Wade Thomson has provided pro bono legal represenatation for eight asylum seekers through the National Immigrant Justice Center. He recently helped a Haitian journalist obtain asylum following his asylum office interview – a significant victory, as Haitian asylum claims are notoriously difficult to win.

Focusing on media law in his regular practice at Jenner & Block LLP, Thomson carries that experience into his pro bono work by representing journalists seeking asylum in the U.S. “It melds with my belief that freedom of the press is important,” he says.

Tell us more about the Haitian journalist who you helped win asylum

My client was a radio journalist in Haiti who worked for an opposition radio station. He was threatened, attacked, and his name was put on a death list with other journalists who were seen as enemies of the powerful factions in Haiti. They really started hunting him in earnest last spring, going to family members’ houses, etc.  At that point it was intolerable for him to stay so he came to Chicago. Fortunately, he won his case at the interview stage (learn more about the asylum process here).

It’s not easy to win Haitian cases. Looking at the case law for support for cases from Haiti was pretty demoralizing. I found 30 to 40 published decisions on Haiti and none were granted. Most state simply that things are bad in Haiti. But they didn’t address the nuances of Haiti, which are complex but critical to making asylum claims.

How did you go about preparing the case in the face of these challenges?

I always approach these things very deliberately and make sure we have an air-tight case, which means a lot of meetings with the client. The clients want to file their asylum applications as quickly as possible, but I always tell them that going slowly and deliberately is the best way to do it. This is the second case I’ve won at the interview stage and I think approaching cases in this way is ideal, if time allows. For this Haitian case, I think the way we tried to frame the issue—showing that my client’s persecutors were powerful and the state of Haiti could not stop the persecutors—was what we needed.

Why did you choose to do this type of pro bono work?

I lived in Central America and worked in journalism before I went to law school. For me, representing asylum seekers was a natural extension of the kind of work I’d always been interested in. Obviously, these are very tangible cases with people you can help directly and immediately. Less obviously, they are interesting and informative and you learn about other countries and political situations you never would have paid attention to before.

To me it’s simple: if you are in a position to help somebody and you would want someone to help you in a similar situation, you just do it.

What have you learned from your pro bono immigration practice?

It is pure persuasion. It is a chance to work on your advocacy, and you have a lot of leeway in the evidence you bring in and the way you present it. You’re given a lot of freedom in how you present it, and that helps you focus your argument, and learn how to make arguments. In many cases you have to convince very skeptical immigration officials and immigration judges. You might never have a tougher audience than these officials and judges, who have already seen many similar cases and therefore often are more critical of your arguments.

What would you say to other attorneys considering pro bono immigration work?

I always say that there’s never a shortage of interesting and worthwhile cases from NIJC. People have varying interests from gender issues to political dissidents to regional interests. With any of these cases, the human element would grasp anyone’s attention, but I think it’s an opportunity for people to follow specific interests they have as well.

You end up meeting really great and inspiring people because you have to coordinate with numerous other people, including staff at NIJC, the Marjorie Kovler Center for Survivors of Torture, the guardian ad lidem, social workers, and doctors. You get to see that there are a lot of people out there who are trying to do good in the world, and that’s really positive reinforcement.

Click here to learn more about pro bono opportunities at NIJC