Akram came the United States fleeing persecution as a former political prisoner. After receiving parole and timely filing an asylum application, he was detained by ICE while attending a routine check-in appointment. PAIFUP counsel began representing Akram several months into his detention and was granted only 11 business days to prepare an asylum case for a full merits hearing. Due to physical and psychological torture that had been inflicted upon him over more than a decade in some of Uzbekistan's most infamous prison camps — including Jaslyk, internationally notorious for state-sponsored torture — Akram suffers from significant mental illness, which was exacerbated by being in ICE detention and which became apparent in court. Following the initial immigration judge's denial of all relief (despite extensive testimony from a country conditions expert), PAIFUP counsel was able to secure medical and psychological evaluations for Akram, leading to a successful motion to reopen before the Board of Immigration Appeals. Upon remand to a different immigration court, the judge found Akram to be not mentally competent to participate in his proceedings and granted deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture. DHS appealed this grant, but the BIA ultimately dismissed the appeal in December 2024, rendering Akram's relief final.Yet, ICE continued to hold Akram in custody. PAIFUP counsel, alongside colleagues from the Amica Center, therefore continued to advocate for Akram, until he was released in January 2025. With the assistance of counsel, he applied for work authorization in February 2025. After 19 months of detention — involving two BIA appeals, a motion to reopen, a competency hearing, and federal litigation — Akram is finally able, with the support of family, to start the process of rebuilding his life in safety.