Patrick Taurel

Patrick Taurel is a Senior Attorney with the Immigration group in Clark Hill’s Washington, DC office. Patrick’s practice focuses on federal court litigation and removal defense, as well as affirmative benefits before United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and U.S. Consulates abroad. Since 2017, he has been named by Washingtonian Magazine as one of “Washington’s Top Lawyers” in the field of immigration law. 

Prior to joining Clark Hill, Patrick was as an associate attorney with the boutique Washington, D.C immigration firm of Benach Ragland (now Benach Collopy) where he fought zealously to help his clients achieve goals ranging from asylum, relief under the Violence Against Women Act, U visas, cancellation of removal, to approval of long-pending applications, and naturalization. For two years, Patrick was a legal fellow with the American Immigration Council where he became specialized in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). At the Council, Patrick authored several practice advisories on DACA and related topics. He participated on numerous webinars, panels and podcasts, and was often a go-to resource for journalists covering DACA and other immigration prosecutorial discretion programs. Following law school, Patrick spent two years as an associate attorney with the leading Idaho immigration law firm, Andrade Legal.

As a law student, Patrick interned with the ACLU’s Immigrant Rights Project, the Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre, and the Immigrant Defense Project. He graduated cum laude from Brooklyn Law School in 2010 and he received his B.A. in Philosophy from Brown University in 2004.

Patrick was born in Brazil and speaks Portuguese and Spanish. He also is proficient in French and Italian. 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. In 2017 and 2018, Patrick served as a member of AILA’s National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Liaison Committee. He is currently serving on AILA’s Amicus Committee. Patrick is also a member of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild and he is a frequent writer and speaker on immigration issues.

Selected Representative Matters

• Ashqar v. LaRose et al., No. 4:18-cv-01141 (N.D. Ohio filed May 17, 2018) - habeas corpus action that secured release of 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, et al. v. United States, et al., 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) – reopened L.B.’s removal proceedings before the Board of Immigration Appeals on the basis of 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. will be able to apply for a green card before the Immigration Judge.
• 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 et al., 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

• Co-Author, Practice Pointer, AILA Annual Conference, “Discovery in Removal Proceedings,” 2018.
• Author, Sample Notice of Mendez-Rojas Class Membership, Frequently Asked Questions, American Immigration Council et al, “Court Decision Ensures Asylum Seekers Notice of the One-Year Filing Deadline and an Adequate Mechanism to Timely File Applications.”
• Co-Author, Sample Mandamus Complaint, Practice Advisory, American Immigration Council, “Mandamus Actions: Avoiding Dismissal and Proving the Case.”
• Co-Author, Practice Pointer, 2016 AILA Annual Conference, “Humanitarian Options Under Executive Action,” 2016.
• Author, Practice Advisory, American Immigration Council, “Screening Potential DACA Requestors for Other Forms of Relief.”
• Co-Author, Practice Advisory, American Immigration Council, “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.”
• Co-Author, Practice Advisory, American Immigration Council and Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., “Advance Parole for DACA Recipients.”
• Co-Author, Practice Advisory for 2015 AILA Annual Conference, “The Long and Winding Road of Prosecutorial Discretion,” 2015.
• Co-Author, “Prosecutorial Discretion Requests Under the Johnson Enforcement Priorities Memorandum,” Practice Advisory, American Immigration Council
• Author, AILA Voice, “The DAPA Dilemma: ‘Should I Apply?’” March 2015.\Author, AILA Voice, “Five Things to Know About DAPA,” January 2015.

Selected Presentations

• Panelist, "Pereira v. Sessions: What, When, and How: Desert Sun: Shining Light on Immigration Policy Changes,” AILA Midwinter Conference, 2019.
• Panelist, "Recent Procedural Challenges and Opportunities: Pereira, Castro-Tum, L-A-B-R-, and S-O-G- & F-D-B-," National Immigration Project Conference: Fighting Back in Removal Proceedings and in the Federal Courts, 2018.
• Discussion Leader, “Discovery in Removal Proceedings,” AILA Annual Conference, 2018.
• Panelist, “Mandamus Relief for Clients Stuck in Administrative Processing,” AILA Podcast, April 3, 2018.
• Discussion Leader, “Humanitarian Options Under Executive Action,” AILA Annual Conference, 2016.
• Panelist, “2015 Update on Prosecutorial Discretion,” AILA Audio Seminar, May 7, 2015.
• Guest, “President Obama’s Immigration Executive Action,” C-Span, Washington Journal, February 8, 2015.
• Panelist, “Late-Breaking Podcast on the 2014 Executive Actions,” AILA Podcast, November 26, 2014.
• Panelist, “Getting Ready for Administrative Relief: What We Know So Far,” Committee for Immigration Reform Implementation Webinar, November 24, 2014.
• Guest, “What’s Next After Obama’s Immigration Plan,” Wall Street Journal Video, November 21, 2014.
• Panelist, “The Long and Winding Road of Prosecutorial Discretion,” AILA Annual Conference, National Harbor, MD, June 17-20, 2014.
• Panelist, “What You Need to Know About DACA Renewals and Other Developments,” AILA Podcast, June 12, 2014.
• Panelist, “Minors in Proceedings,” AILA New England Immigration Law Conference, Boston, MA, March 7, 2014.
• Panelist, “DACA Updates – Evolving and Advanced Issues,” AILA Audio Seminar, July 25, 2013.