December 27, 2019
For immediate release
FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS DHS TO BRING DEPORTED GAY CHADIAN BACK TO THE U.S.
San Francisco, CA. - Late afternon on December 18, 2019, a federal judge in the Northern District in California ordered the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) to bring Oumar Yaide, a gay Chadian, back to the United States after he was unlawfully deported overnight. Oumar’s legal team filed a habeas petition and temporary restraining order (“TRO”) the day they learned DHS was deporting Oumar, arguing that it is a violation of his due process rights to summarily remove him while he still has claims for relief from deportation in the United States. In a rare move, the federal court issued a temporary decision finding that DHS must correct their error by bringing Oumar back to the United States to continue to fight his case. Now, Oumar’s legal team is working to facilitate his return to the U.S. as fast as possible.
“We are heartened by this decision, and won’t stop fighting until Oumar is back home in San Francisco and free among his friends and community,” said his immigration attorney, Sean Lai McMahon from Pangea Legal Services. “Now is the time to hold the government accountable and ensure they comply with the judge's orders,” says Edwin Carmona-Cruz, Co-Director at Pangea, “We call on our state and federal officials to ascend to this call for Oumar’s safe return.”
Oumar is a beloved member of his community in San Francisco, where he has lived for almost 10 years. Oumar came to the United States with his cousin in 2009 seeking asylum as a political dissident, but lost his case in 2014. Since then, he had been appealing his asylum case.
In August 2019, ICE seized Oumar in his apartment in San Francisco, arrested him claiming to be looking for someone else, and took him to Yuba County Jail. Oumar’s legal team filed a Motion to Reopen at the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), based on the fact that the government of Chad criminalized homosexuality in 2017, increasing the threat to LGBTQ individuals -- a claim he was not able to raise at his first asylum hearing.
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