SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Since 1995 local nonprofit Horn of Africa has helped the thousands of East African refugees in san diego…
"So we've had several of our clients be detained in sweeps, especially at the courthouses,” Ahmad Mahmoud said.
Mahmoud works as an asylum case manager with the nonprofit. A lot of his clients seeking asylum usually sit across from him. But lately, many of those meetings have turned to phone calls from detention centers.
"So I mean daily it can be 10 calls, more than 10 calls, every day I feel like the calls increase because more people are being detained," Mahmoud explained.
Mahmoud said each phone call has been very challenging. For many of his clients have been going through the right channels to seek and obtain citizenship, he said those are the same ones getting picked up at courthouses.
"It's very like unfortunate because they're waiting there, they've been in America for that many years and then they find that the court to apply for asylum and then when they go to show to court to even plead their case, they're being detained," Mahmoud said. "And so I feel like they're being robbed of the opportunity to get the status that they're looking for."
It's a heartbreaking situation for Mahmoud and his clients. The immediate goal for Mahmoud is to connect his clients to resources like legal representation.
“Our immigration attorneys have been working around the clock trying to figure out the best solutions for each case in particular,” Mahmoud said.
The recent raids across the region and right here at home have scared a number of clients from pursuing what they originally came here for.
"It basically creates this fear in our other clients to show up to court because they think they're gonna be next and if our clients don't show up to court, then the immigration judge can order them to be deported right away," Mahmoud said.
Mahmoud reiterates the office is working with families to move forward, no matter what obstacles they face.
