Wall Street Journal Profiles Loeb & Loeb Pro Bono Asylum Client, Actor Jihad (Jay) Abdo

In an inspiring story of perseverance and hope, The Wall Street Journal recently profiled Loeb & Loeb pro bono client Jihad (Jay) Abdo, a prominent Syrian actor who fled the civil war in his native country in 2011, arriving as an unknown refugee in Hollywood where he has since successfully rebuilt his career and his life from the ground up.

Click here to read the full story on The Wall Street Journal’s website.

After arriving in the United States and while working odd jobs to pay bills and volunteering in student productions and small television and indie film projects, Abdo and his wife, a prominent artist, worked to navigate the complex immigration system. In the summer of 2013, Loeb & Loeb attorneys Laura A. Wytsma and Patrick N. Downes succeeded in obtaining political asylum for the couple, who faced persecution in Syria by the oppressive regime of President Bashar al-Assad. While in the United States they have taken public stances in opposition to the Syrian government and worked to raise awareness about the atrocities being perpetrated by the regime.

Loeb & Loeb attorneys have represented asylum seekers from countries across the globe – including Iran, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Russia, China, Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala – who fled persecution in their countries. The firm’s pro bono work in immigration court and federal courts of appeal has allowed clients to avoid removal from the United States and the threat of violence or even death in their native countries.