Harlem Immigration Lawyers

Harlem Immigration Lawyers

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We have over 50 years of combined experience representing immigrants throughout Manhattan, and if you’re on this page you probably know someone dealing with asylum denial, deportation proceedings, or trying to get work authorization while waiting years for a hearing.

West 116th Street between St. Nicholas and 8th Avenue – Little Senegal – has become the arrival point for thousands of West Africans fleeing Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, and Mali. Those three countries are now the top origin points for African migrants arriving in New York. Most came through the southern border in 2023-2024, got released with court dates, and settled here because Francophone communities exist. What nobody expected was March 2025.

What Changed in March

Immigration Courts decided 10,933 asylum cases that month – more than any month since 2001. Three out of four were denied. That’s a 76% denial rate.

If you filed in 2023 or 2024, your hearing is coming up under these conditions. Judges are under pressure to move cases fast. The government assumes fraud. Translation problems make you look evasive even when you’re telling the truth – judges don’t understand how West Africans express time or trauma, cultural differences read as lying.

One client covered opposition protests in Guinea as a journalist. Police detained him overnight, took his phone, questioned him about sources. He got released but two weeks later officers came to his family’s home looking for him. He left within a month, crossed at the southern border, got released with a Notice to Appear. Now he’s facing a judge who denies three out of four cases.

Winning takes more than showing up and telling your story. You need a declaration in your native language with specifics – dates, locations, names, exactly what was said, what you reported and how authorities responded. “I fear persecution” loses every time now. “Captain Diallo detained me March 15th at my office and said if I published again they’d charge me with inciting violence” – that has a chance.

Documentation showing the pattern matters just as much. State Department country reports and Human Rights Watch materials work. Expert witnesses help – psychologists documenting trauma, people who understand political dynamics in Guinea or Senegal. Corroboration seals it: arrest records and threatening messages if you’ve got them.

The one-year deadline catches most people. File within one year of arriving in the U.S., with limited exceptions. Miss it and you lose eligibility even with a strong claim. Many asylum seekers we meet are approaching that deadline without knowing it exists.

Working While You Wait

Cases take years to resolve. After your application has been pending 150 days, you can apply for work authorization. That permit lets you work legally while waiting – critical for survival and sending money back home.

Work permits last two years and renew while cases remain open. Without one you’re stuck – can’t work legally, vulnerable to employers who exploit you because they know your situation. Local organizations report being overwhelmed: one group now sees 30 to 40 walk-ins daily, up from five to eight the previous year, and much of that involves work permit applications.

After Denial

Most people lose. With three out of four cases denied, deportation isn’t automatic though. You can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals if the judge made errors, ignored evidence, rushed testimony. BIA appeals take months or years and you typically stay during that time.

Withholding of removal works differently than asylum. Higher proof standard – you must show it’s “more likely than not” you’ll be persecuted rather than asylum’s “well-founded fear.” It doesn’t give you a green card path but it prevents deportation to the specific country where you’d face harm.

Convention Against Torture protection has an even higher bar. You need to prove you’d likely be tortured by the government or with government acquiescence. It’s available even if you have criminal convictions that would disqualify you from asylum.

Some people have other options – family petitions if there’s a U.S. citizen spouse or parent, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status for people under 21 who were abused or abandoned. Each situation is different, which is why you need someone who understands all the paths when asylum fails.

The worst move is ignoring a denial. If you don’t appeal and don’t pursue alternatives, ICE issues a deportation order and removal can happen within weeks.

Why We Take These Cases

Todd Spodek is a second-generation attorney – his father practiced before him. Our team has over 50 years of combined experience handling cases that others won’t touch. We’ve represented clients in matters that became national news, including Anna Delvey in the case that turned into a Netflix series. The firm’s been featured in the New York Times and Bloomberg.

West African asylum cases right now are life-or-death situations. Losing means deportation to countries where people face persecution or torture. With 76% denial rates, these cases demand preparation most firms won’t provide – interviews in French, interpreters for Wolof and Pulaar, expert witnesses who understand West African politics, extensive trial prep through multiple practice sessions.

We’re available 24/7. Whether you’re approaching the one-year deadline, facing deportation after denial, or need work authorization while your case sits pending – call us. Getting this wrong has permanent consequences, and we’ve spent decades handling exactly these situations.