Our Team

Patrick Taurel

Patrick Taurel is a Partner at Grossman Young & Hammond. He litigates immigration cases in federal court, fights complex removal cases in immigration court, advises criminal defense counsel on the immigration consequences of criminal convictions, and helps clients obtain immigration benefits before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. consular posts. He regularly secures his clients’ release from immigration detention through parole and prosecutorial discretion requests to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, immigration court bond hearings, and habeas corpus petitions in federal court.

 

Since 2017, Patrick has been named by Washingtonian Magazine as one of “Washington’s Top Lawyers” in the field of immigration law, and in June 2018, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) recognized Patrick with the Joseph Minsky Young Lawyer Award for his outstanding contributions made as a young lawyer in the field of immigration and nationality law.

 

Patrick joins Grossman Young & Hammond with over a decade of experience as an advocate for immigrants, having worked for leading immigration firms and impactful non-profit immigrant rights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Immigration Council, and Clark Hill PLC. He served as lead counsel in J.G. v. Warden, Irwin County Detention Center, __ F. Supp. 3d __, 2020 WL 6938013 (M.D. Ga. Nov. 16, 2020) (Due Process Clause requires government to bear burden of justifying noncitizen’s detention under 8 U.S.C. §1226(a) by clear and convincing evidence), Siddiqui v. Cissna, 356 F. Supp. 3d 772 (S.D. Ind. 2018) (jurisdiction to review USCIS decision denying application for adjustment of status based on Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program), Siahaan v. Madrigal, 2020 WL 5893638 (D. Md. Oct. 5, 2020) (habeas jurisdiction to stay removal of noncitizen pending resolution of asylum-based motion to reopen), and other cases challenging indefinite post-final order detention, arbitrary CBP inadmissibility findings, unreasonable agency delay and unlawful withholding of agency action, and denials of family-based immigrant petitions under the Adam Walsh Act.

 

Patrick has been quoted in an array of publications including The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, and has appeared on National Public Radio (NPR) and C-SPAN. He speaks Spanish and Portuguese and is proficient in French and Italian.

 

You can read a profile of and interview with Patrick conducted by his law school alma mater’s alumni publication, Brooklyn Law Noteshere.

Education

  • JD, Brooklyn Law School, cum laude
  • B.A., Philosophy, Brown University

Admissions/Memberships

  • New York
  • District of Columbia
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Accolades

  • Recipient of the 2024 Michael Maggio Pr Bono Award from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).
  • Washington DC’s Best LawyersWashingtonian Magazine, 2017 – present.
  • Recognized in Best Lawyers, “Ones to Watch,” U.S. News & World Report, 2023.
  • Recipient, American Immigration Lawyers Association’s 2018 Joseph Minsky Young Lawyer Award

Professional Activities

  • National Immigration Litigation Alliance, Advisory Committee, 2021 – present
  • American Immigration Lawyers Association (Member)
  • National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild (Member)
  • American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Amicus Committee, 2018-2020
  • American Immigration Lawyers Association’s National ICE Liaison Committee, 2017-2018

Selected Representative Matters

  • In re S.A., Temporary Protected Status Proceedings (USCIS Potomac Service Center 2023) – Persuaded USCIS that Mr. S.A., the U.S. born child of a diplomat, had not made a false claim to U.S. citizenship under the Immigration and Nationality Act, even though he had repeatedly presented U.S. passports to immigration officials.
  • In re P.S., Expedited Removal Proceedings (CBP SFO 2023) – Successfully vacated expedited removal order issued to noncitizen by CBP at San Francisco International Airport.
  • J.G. v. Warden, Irwin County Detention Center, __ F. Supp. 3d __, 2020 WL 6938013 (M.D. Ga. Nov. 16, 2020) (Due Process Clause requires government to bear burden of justifying noncitizen’s detention under 8 U.S.C. §1226(a) by clear and convincing evidence)
  • Siahaan v. Madrigal, 2020 WL 5893638 (D. Md. Oct. 5, 2020) (habeas jurisdiction to stay removal of noncitizen pending resolution of asylum-based motion to reopen)
  • Siddiqui v. Cissna, 356 F. Supp. 3d 772 (S.D. Ind. 2018) (jurisdiction to review USCIS decision denying application for adjustment of status based on Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program)
  • Matter of M-N- (BIA 2022) – Deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture granted to Moroccan national with extensive criminal history and antisocial personality disorder who feared aggravated encounters and torture at the hands of omnipresent Moroccan law enforcement.
  • Matter of P-P- (York, PA Imm. Ct. 2021) – Successfully represented lawful permanent resident with child pornography possession conviction in removal proceedings in connection with his application for readjustment of status and an extreme hardship waiver based on the potential impact his removal would have on his U.S. citizen wife and children.
  • Ashqar v. LaRose, No. 4:18-cv-01141 (N.D. Ohio filed May 17, 2018) – habeas corpus action that secured release of Palestinian noncitizen with final order of removal who was detained by ICE for 18 months.
  • In re A.S., Asylum Termination Proceedings (USCIS Arlington Asylum Office 2017) – Satisfied USCIS that termination of A.S.’s asylee status was unwarranted.
  • In re C.B., Creation of Record Proceedings (USCIS Washington Field Office 2017) – Persuaded USCIS to approve green card application of C.B., the U.S.-born son of a diplomat who had been absent from the United States for a period of six years when he was a child.
  • In re M.M., N-400 Proceedings (USCIS Washington Field Office 2017) – Obtained approval of Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, for M.M., notwithstanding that she voted in a prior election.
  • Matter of C-A- (Arlington, VA Imm. Ct. 2017) – asylum granted to Anglophone Cameroonian who played a leadership role in the Southern Cameroons National Council based on his well-founded fear of persecution on account of his political opinion and nationality.
  • Usilo v. United States, No. 17-7517 (S.D.N.Y. filed Oct. 2, 2017; dismissed Nov. 7, 2017) – APA complaint and Motion for Preliminary Injunction challenging baseless finding of fraud made by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 15 days after initiation of the lawsuit, CBP withdrew its inadmissibility finding, clearing the way for our client to obtain his visa.
  • Matter of L-B- (BIA 2016) (Arlington, VA Imm. Ct. 2020) – reopened L.B.’s removal proceedings before the Board of Immigration Appeals based on ineffective assistance by prior counsel. L.B.’s prior counsel was ineffective because he failed to present evidence to USCIS and the immigration court that L.B.’s most recent entry into the United States was a “wave-through” entry that rendered him eligible for adjustment of status. In reopened proceedings, L.B. satisfied the immigration judge that he had been waved through a U.S. port of entry and that his wife would suffer extreme hardship if his green card were denied. L.B. was granted lawful permanent resident status.
  • Matter of A.A. (Arlington, VA Imm. Ct. 2018) – Asylum granted to Afghan journalist who worked with U.S. news organization and reported critically on the Taliban.
  • Matter of Y.S.C. (Arlington, VA Imm. Ct. 2018) – Secured adjustment of status to that of lawful permanent resident for Korean conditional lawful permanent resident who inadvertently failed to file petition to remove conditions on residence.
  • Wang v. Colucci, No. 15-1689 (D.D.C. filed Oct. 15, 2015) – Petition for writ of mandamus on behalf of Chinese EB-5 investor to compel USCIS to adjudicate long-pending Form I-526. Within six months of filing the petition, USCIS approved the I-526.

Selected Publications, Presentations, and Media Appearances

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