Earlier this year, WMRA reported on a man living in Staunton who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in early June. Last month, an immigration judge denied his application to stay in the U.S., despite his credible fear of gang persecution in his home country. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi spoke with Bob Leweke with the latest.
Readers should be advised this story includes a graphic photo of burn injuries.
BOB LEWEKE: Randi, remind us who he is, and what’s been going on regarding his situation.
RANDI B. HAGI: Olman is a 33-year-old carpenter who settled in Staunton with his wife and two children in 2023. He has no criminal record, and fled his country of origin, in Central America, after being brutally attacked multiple times by gang members there. WMRA interviewed Olman's wife for a previous story, and we've agreed to withhold her name, Olman's last name, and their home country due to the couple's fears of violence should Olman be deported.
His wife told me Olman was detained at an ICE appointment in Richmond which he went to voluntarily. Since early June, he's been held at the Caroline Detention Facility.
Because he was previously removed from the U.S. in 2016, he does not qualify for asylum, despite what later happened to him. Instead, he's filed for a "withholding of removal," a legal status available to those ineligible for asylum who are more likely than not to be seriously harmed if they go back to their home country – specifically, because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
Since our last report on Olman's case, his attorney told us ICE did give him a reasonable fear interview in detention – but the officers determined he did not have a reasonable fear of persecution or torture. Olman appealed that decision, and a judge ruled in his favor – opening the door for the withholding of removal application.
LEWEKE: Randi, your previous reporting on Olman’s situation was in July. So, what has happened with his case since then?
HAGI: On October 15th, Olman appeared before Annandale Immigration Court Judge John Barnes in a virtual hearing. He spoke through an interpreter, via a video connection that periodically cut out and dropped audio, causing delays throughout the proceeding. Olman recounted opening a paint shop in his home country in 2020. Gang members soon began extorting money from him in a cycle of violence that escalated every time he couldn't pay. He was beaten up multiple times, including with a metal tube. Olman said gang members also harassed his wife and young daughter saying it would be a "waste" to see them dead in plastic bags. When Olman left the area one time, his father-in-law refused to tell the gang where he went, so they shot him in the leg.
On February 4, 2022, Olman told the gang he had no money to give them and couldn't continue to pay. In the hearing, he became emotional when testifying about the resulting attack. He said gang members threw him on the floor and beat him. He was still conscious when one told the others to burn everything, including him. They emptied gasoline and other flammable liquids on his body and shop equipment, set it ablaze, and latched the shop's only door on the outside. Olman took off his clothes, but parts of his burning pants stuck to his skin.
Local residents were able to get Olman out of the shop, alive, unconscious, and covered in first- to third-degree burns on his face, arms, hands, and back. He was in the hospital for 10 days, before going into hiding out of fear that the gang would kill him there. He said once the gang realized there had been no funeral, they continued looking for him. They obtained his and his wife's new phone numbers, and threatened to kill them.
The first time they tried to leave the country, Olman's injuries hadn't healed yet, and his daughter got sick, so they returned to their hiding place. The young family left their home country for good in 2023 and headed for the U.S. Olman said they were extorted by local police several times along the way.
Olman's wife was prepared to testify that day, but Immigration Judge Barnes said after Olman's testimony that they only had until noon for this hearing, which had started at 8:30. The wife's account of these events was filed in an affidavit.
LEWEKE: Those are very disturbing details. What was the reaction to that testimony during the hearing?
HAGI: The attorney for the Department of Homeland Security, Assistant Chief Counsel Matt Sweet, did not challenge the veracity of Olman's account, and did not allege or present any evidence that he had ever committed a crime. Immigration Judge John Barnes also said there were no credibility issues as to the harm inflicted upon Olman. But Sweet argued that Olman had not been persecuted on the basis of "protected grounds" under immigration law – that Olman was not harmed because of his race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Sweet also said Olman failed to show the government wouldn't be able to protect him, because he went to the police twice, and the authorities just didn't have enough information to track down the gang.
Olman's attorney, Jeffrey Haynes, argued that the gang's persecution went beyond economic motivation. He said, "this is teaching somebody a lesson, including others in the community, by making an example out of him." Additionally, Haynes said the government is unable and unwilling to protect him, as evidenced by the futile police reports and the U.S. government's own analysis that corruption is rampant there and crimes often go unpunished.
The judge himself asked Haynes to talk about potential relief under "CAT," or the Convention Against Torture. According to international and U.S. law, a person cannot be returned to a country where they are likely to face torture. However, various federal courts have ruled differently as to whether this includes torture perpetrated by non-govermental actors, such as gang members, that is not stopped by the government.
Haynes said "the government would turn a blind eye to torture" if Olman was sent back.
After deliberating for nearly a month, Barnes denied Olman's application on November 12. He wrote that Olman did receive help from their home country's government, his young family successfully relocated within the country before coming to the U.S., and he was attacked over money, not for being part of a particular social group.
Olman is still being held at the Caroline Detention Facility at this time. His attorney told WMRA they have appealed Barnes' decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals. In the meantime, they hope to get Olman released on bond through a habeas corpus petition, as he's been detained for more than 180 days. We will continue to follow his case and keep you updated.
LEWEKE: Randi, thank you so much for the update.
HAGI: Thank you, Bob.
