Winston Helps Political Prisoners Expelled from Nicaragua to File for Asylum

In February 2023, under the cover of night, 222 political prisoners in Nicaragua were expelled from their country by President Daniel Ortega. The prisoners included priests, students, activists, and former presidential candidates.

With no advance warning, the 222 prisoners were awakened from sleep, loaded onto buses, and driven to the airport in the capital city, where they boarded a plane to Washington, D.C. During their flight to the United States, a judge in Nicaragua declared that the former prisoners were deported for being “traitors to the country.” Later that same day, the Nicaraguan Congress voted to strip “traitors” of their nationality. 

The United States granted the 222 former political prisoners humanitarian parole, which allows them to stay in the country for up to two years and gives them time to file for asylum. Americans for Immigrant Justice reached out to attorneys in Winston’s Miami office to represent some of the Nicaraguans who had been settled in Miami.  

Winston Miami attorneys and professional staff, with support from the Dallas and Houston offices, have filed asylum petitions for eight of the expelled Nicaraguans. Winston volunteers are continuing to help the expelled Nicaraguans navigate the asylum process.