Asylum-seekers at mercy of inconsistent courts
"As asylum cases go, Daniel Teboh's court hearing in Dallas seemed as close to a slam-dunk as they get, his attorney said.
Mr. Teboh of Cameroon said he fled to the U.S.in 2005 after police arrested and beat him for criticizing the government. His half brother, who had received asylum, was among the witnesses ready to testify at immigration court. Supporting documents from the State Department attested to the central African nation's record of abuses, torture and killings of political activists.
None of that mattered. Attorney Yong L. Wood said Judge Roxanne C. Hladylowycz cut his presentation short, announcing that she would neither hear witnesses nor consider the stack of documents. She denied asylum to Mr. Teboh, saying he was not believable. In doing so, she triggered a deportation process that could send him back into the arms of the government he is trying to escape.
"In seven years as an attorney, I've never seen anything like this," Mr. Wood said after recounting the ruling March 16 at the Earle Cabell Federal Building."
TOD ROBBERSON in the Dallas Morning News.