Somali asylum seekers sounding alarm over "Somali Rocket Docket"

Somali asylum seekers say they are running out of time to tell their stories. One man says this is a matter of life or death. 

Immigration attorneys are sounding the alarm about something they're calling "Somali Rocket Docket." They say Somali asylum cases are suddenly being fast-tracked with hearings scheduled with out-of-state judges.

Immigration attorney Evangeline Dhawan-Maloney says her client, Mohamed's case, is one of many Somali asylum cases being pushed forward faster than ever before. She says that leaves her clients at a disadvantage.

"The big concern in his case is whether or not we are going to have enough time to present an accurate and full asylum case," Dhawan-Maloney said. 

Mohamed left Somalia after his father was killed, then had to leave South Africa. He arrived in the U.S in the fall of 2022 and was reunited with his son who is a U.S citizen. Not long after he had stroke left him in a coma and now paralyzed, relying on care at a nursing home.

"I'm very happy, I'm very lucky to be in America," Mohamed said. 

Mohamed said if he had his stroke in Africa, he doesn't believe he would be alive. 

In just a few weeks, his asylum case will be heard and that will decide if he will stay or be deported. 

WCCO's Ubah Ali asked him if it is safe for him to go back to Somalia and he said no. "Al-Shabab (a terrorist group in Somalia) there—it's not," he said. 

The Executive Office for Immigration Review says they're required to decide asylum applications within 180 days.

"All cases are adjudicated in accordance with the applicable law. Moreover, EOIR is required by federal law to adjudicate asylum applications within 180 days. The suggestion that EOIR should delay adjudicating certain groups of cases is contrary to both EOIR's mission and the law," a spokesperson for the Executive Office for Immigration Review said.

For now, Mohamed is left waiting for a decision that will change is life.

"I'm sick, I'm paralyzed, I cannot walk today. I can't go to work. I need legal status please," he said. 

Immigration attorneys call it "nationality-based discrimination" targeting Somalis. They say they plan to fight it.