In the summer of 2016, in the course of representing an Uzbek client who had been questioned by FBI agents, CUNY’s Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility Clinic (CLEAR) learned of Akram Djumaev’s ordeal. At the time, all we knew was that he had been forced to give up his green card. CLEAR offered assistance and eventually got in touch with Mr. Djumaev.
What Mr. Djumaev reported was disturbing. Originally from Uzbekistan, Mr. Djumaev had flown to his country in January 2016 to get engaged. At JFK airport, as he prepared to leave the United States, law enforcement agents seized his cell phone without a warrant. Nonetheless, Mr. Djumaev made the trip home and became in engaged, with plans to return to the United States about three months later in March 2016. Unfortunately for him, he was denied boarding on his scheduled flight. Thereafter, he was issued certain instructions regarding a potential return to the United States, as provided to him by the U.S. Embassy.
Two months later, in May 2016, the U.S. Embassy instructed him to appear before it in person. Believing this was necessary for him to return to the United States, Mr. Djumaev followed their directions. Upon his arrival, both an FBI agent and an ICE agent, who had flown from the United States for this specific purpose, interrogated him and eventually coerced him into signing a form intended for those who wish to voluntarily give up their permanent resident status in the United States.
Mr. Djumaev had not had any intention of doing so before he appeared at the Embassy.
The agents had shown up with a pre-filled form, with some of Mr. Djumaev’s information already typed into the form. The agents kept threatening Mr. Djumaev with arrest and imprisonment if he returned to the United States. Eventually, Mr. Djumaev agreed to sign the form. He was so shaken up by the process that he had to write the date three times on the form before writing it correctly. However, Mr. Djumaev hadn’t brought his physical green card with him to the Embassy, so the agents were unable to seize it.
Beginning in the summer of 2016, CLEAR began its attempts to secure his return. From 2016 – 2018, several CLEAR students worked on his case, interviewing him, filing Freedom of Information Act requests and other complaints, as well as advising him. Elizabeth White (’17), My Le (’18), Briana Deutsch (’18), and Noran Elzarka (’18) all worked with Mr. Djumaev during that time in our attempts to figure out a way for him to return.
Eventually, CLEAR secured pro bono co-counsel through Jones Day in Atlanta. We filed suit against the FBI, Customs and Border Protection, ICE, and the State Department in September 2021. By early 2022, we began settlement negotiations with the government. It seemed for a while that we might not come to an agreement. At a Zoom settlement conference before a magistrate judge in July 2022, we were outnumbered 5:1 by the government agency representatives and Department of Justice attorneys.
In November 2022, we reached a settlement agreement with the government which provided certain protections for Mr. Djumaev’s return to the United States. The following month, the U.S. government informed him that he was not on the No Fly List.
On January 17, 2023, Mr. Djumaev flew to Newark International Airport and was admitted to the United States as a green card holder, bringing his seven-year exile to an end. He’s excited to be back, to restart his life, and to bring his wife and three children to join him here.
CLEAR could not have done this without the clinic support staff, our students, and the help of pro-bono counsel from Jones Day.
To read more about CLEAR’s current work, or make a donation in support of their work, head to www.cunyclear.org.