(Apr 01, 2014, (Boston))--US immigration officials released a gay Ethiopian man without bail on Monday, two weeks after the Globe reported that he was facing deportation to a nation in Africa where same-sex conduct could land him in prison.
The 19-year-old had been jailed since January, shortly after he lost his student visa, reportedly because of low grades. Though it was unclear whether immigration officers knew that he is gay, the man had told friends and posted it online, disclosures the man’s uncle said could endanger him back home.
Gay people in Ethiopia face abuse and even prison time for offenses related to same-sex conduct, according to Amnesty International. “I’m ecstatic that he’s out,” said Todd Williams, a gay Republican running for state Senate in Worcester, and one of two people the young man had told that he is gay. “Now we’re the process of getting him asylum.”
Advocates for immigrants had said the Ethiopian man’s case reflected the risks in the US immigration system, which does not assign public defenders to people facing deportation. During his initial hearings, the man did not have a lawyer and did not seek asylum in immigration court.
The immigration judge had also ordered a mental-health review for the man, because he struggled to communicate with the court. Read more from Boston.com »
The 19-year-old had been jailed since January, shortly after he lost his student visa, reportedly because of low grades. Though it was unclear whether immigration officers knew that he is gay, the man had told friends and posted it online, disclosures the man’s uncle said could endanger him back home.
Gay people in Ethiopia face abuse and even prison time for offenses related to same-sex conduct, according to Amnesty International. “I’m ecstatic that he’s out,” said Todd Williams, a gay Republican running for state Senate in Worcester, and one of two people the young man had told that he is gay. “Now we’re the process of getting him asylum.”
Advocates for immigrants had said the Ethiopian man’s case reflected the risks in the US immigration system, which does not assign public defenders to people facing deportation. During his initial hearings, the man did not have a lawyer and did not seek asylum in immigration court.
The immigration judge had also ordered a mental-health review for the man, because he struggled to communicate with the court. Read more from Boston.com »
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