Luis, is a native of the Dominican Republic who came to the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 1994, when he was only six-years-old. He lives in New York, as do most of his family members, including his mother, grandmother, brother, and sister. Luis has long struggled with bipolar disorder and was under the supervision of the New York County Mental Hygiene Court for a time.

In 2007, Luis was arrested after he had agreed to accept payment of a few hundred dollars to transport cocaine to Connecticut from New York City. In large part because of his mental health needs, the United States Attorney agreed to allow Luis to plead guilty to the lesser crime of using a telephone to facilitate drug trafficking. Despite successfully completing his sentence, ICE arrested Luis in December 2013 and placed him in removal proceedings based on the 2007 case. Luis was held in an Immigration Detention facility by ICE for almost two years when The Legal Aid Society was able to secure a hearing and his family posted a $5,000 bond.

Although Luis had been released from immigration custody, his removal proceedings were still ongoing. The Immigration Law Unit, and a team of pro bono attorneys at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, which included, Jon Kolodner, Sam Levander, and Julian Cardona, first applied for prosecutorial discretion with the ICE Office of Chief Counsel. Although the Cleary team prepared extensive supporting papers, ICE denied the application. The Immigration Law Unit and Cleary then further considered Luis’s options. From there, another Cleary team, which included Roger Cooper, Sam Levander, Julian Cardona, and Lenny Leonard, filed a motion to terminate proceedings with the Immigration Court, arguing that Luis’s conviction did not make him removable in the first place. The Immigration Judge agreed with that argument, and terminated Luis’s removal proceedings. With the help of the Cleary teams, Luis was able to remain in the United States, the country he has called home for nearly his entire life, as a lawful permanent resident and remain with his family. This was an extraordinary result that could not have been achieved without the assistance of the pro bono attorneys from Cleary.