Fredrikson & Byron’s Somali 92 Team Receives Recognition for Its Pro Bono Legal Representation

A team from Fredrikson & Byron is receiving recognition from The Advocates for Human Rights for its pro bono legal representation of the national Somali 92 Team. Fredrikson’s team, consisting of Samuel Andre, Diana Bospachieva, James Brand, Adam Gyurisin, Brenda Haberman, Barbara MacInnis, Debra Schneider, Jessica Sharpe, Sandra Smalley-Fleming, Adam Steinert, Pamela Wandzel and Matthew Webster, will be honored at The Advocates for Human Rights Awards Dinner on June 20, 2019, as the Somali 92 Team receives the 2019 Human Rights Volunteer Award.

In December 2017, the U.S. government attempted to deport 92 Somali citizens — many of whom had been in the United States for more than a decade — despite the ongoing war and conflict in that country. The deportations of these individuals, referred to as the “Somali 92,” were ultimately unsuccessful after the flight was grounded in Senegal, and the 92 Somali citizens were then returned to the U.S. and detained until their claims of asylum could be fully adjudicated, or they were deported.

Local attorneys, including Fredrikson’s legal team, have partnered with The Advocates for Human Rights since January 2018 to provide pro bono legal representation for members of the Somali 92 flight, representing these individuals through individual hearings and motions, appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals and appeals to the federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition to the Advocates’ 2019 Human Rights Volunteer Award, the Somali 92 Team will also receive the 2019 Arthur C. Helton Memorial Human Rights Award at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, on the same day.

Fredrikson & Byron is a 275-attorney law firm based in Minneapolis, with offices in Bismarck, Des Moines, Fargo, Mankato, St. Paul, Saltillo, Mexico, and Shanghai, China. Fredrikson & Byron has a reputation as the firm “where law and business meet”. Our attorneys bring business acumen and entrepreneurial thinking to work with clients, and operate as business advisors and strategic partners, as well as legal counselors. More information about the firm is available at www.fredlaw.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and on Twitter @FredriksonLaw.