Will the USA guarantee protection for Zbigniew Ziobro? This is his situation after his escape
Poles are again living with the case of Zbigniew Ziobro, whom the prosecutor's office wants to charge with 26 charges regarding irregularities in the Justice Fund. But it will still be very difficult. From now on, Poland must cooperate on this matter not with Hungary, but with the US, as we have already explained in Business Insider Polska.
Legal analysis shows that Zbigniew Ziobro's goal should be to start the asylum procedure in the US. As long as it continues and the American government supports him, he will not be deported. Here's why.
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Przemysław Nowak, spokesman for the National Prosecutor's Office, confirmed that Zbigniew Ziobro flew from Milan to New York on May 9. This was made possible by two documents: a Geneva passport granted by Hungary and an American visa. Reuters reported that Zbigniew Ziobro's escape from Hungary to the United States was facilitated by US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
Nowak added that If the suspect had been wanted with a European Arrest Warrant, as investigators had been requesting since February 10, the departure would have been impossible.
So far, however, the court has not made a decision on an EAWwhich would enable the search for Zbigniew Ziobro, but only within the European Union member states. And he won't do it for a long time, not only because of the lack of a final judgment regarding the arrest. As reported by “Rzeczpospolita”, the judges who are supposed to deal with the prosecutor's office's request to issue a European arrest warrant (EAW) for Zbigniew Ziobro will not do it until the end of August because they will be on vacation. And Ziobro can enjoy his freedom, but outside Poland, because he is being hunted here.
At the same time, the procedure in Hungary may also begin to deprive Ziobro of asylum, and thus of the Geneva passport that enabled him to travel to the USA.
Radosław Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced that Poland has already asked Hungary to invalidate the documents issued there to Ziobro.
Except Legal analysis shows that Hungarian documents are no longer important for Zbigniew Ziobro, unless he intends to leave the United States for now. It is important for him to obtain refugee status in the US.
Does Zbigniew Ziobro need a passport in the USA?
As lawyer Jarosław Kurpiejewski tells us, the expiration of Zbigniew Ziobro's passport will not affect his ability to apply for asylum or continue the asylum procedure itself.
— There is no requirement for an asylum seeker to have a valid passport throughout the proceedings. Many applicants do not have valid passports, and qualifying for asylum does not depend on the validity of the passport, explains Jarosław Kurpiejewski, partner at the KBiW law firm and attorney in New York.
He adds that Simply filing an asylum application does not automatically provide permanent protection from deportation.
— Nevertheless the U.S. government generally cannot return an asylum seeker to his or her country of origin until the asylum application has been processed. The law requires that anyone who submits a sincere application for asylum receives a fair hearing, i.e. a fair hearing in court before a decision on possible deportation, adds the attorney.
Meanwhile, under US immigration law, it is usually impossible to remove a person from the US without the so-called final order of removal, i.e. the final deportation order. This principle results from the right to due process guaranteed by the Constitution and applies to all persons residing in the USA, regardless of immigration status.
In certain circumstances, Ziobro could potentially be placed in a guarded center for foreigners (detention center), because the mere submission of an asylum application does not result in this. At the moment, however, such a scenario is difficult to imagine.
Without a passport, Ziobro will be “trapped” in the USA
Importantly, legal status in the US is determined by the period of authorized stay, not the validity of the passport upon entry. Everyone who enters the United States fills out Form I-94, a digital entry and exit card (Arrival/Departure Record). This document specifies the maximum legal duration of stay in the USA.
However, as attorney Kurpiejewski points out, the expiry of a passport after legal entry does not in itself terminate the period of legal residence granted by visa and Form I-94. It will make leaving and returning to the USA more difficult, but not the stay itself. Without a passport, either Polish or Geneva, Ziobro will be “trapped” in the United States, but not at risk of deportation due to illegal stay.
— A key factor is whether the individual has overstayed the I-94 allowance or violated the terms of his or her visa. Even if Mr. Zbigniew Ziobro's visa expires and his asylum case is actively considered, there should not be any days of illegal presence on his account.. This will be the so-called authorized duration of stay in the USA while the application is being considered – explains Jarosław Kurpiejewski.
If Zbigniew Ziobro is granted asylum, he may also receive a new Geneva Travel Document from the US. Difficulties and restrictions will appear when Polish courts decide to arrest him and issue an EAW.
Asylum is most often granted when it is necessary to ensure protection and when it is justified by the important interests of the country where the persecuted person resides (in this case, the interests of the USA).
Radosław Sikorski does not know how Ziobro meets these conditions. In his opinion, sooner or later the former Minister of Justice in the Polish government will be a source of great embarrassment to the American administration.
