Hussien Noor Hussien, a Somali cab driver detained by federal immigration agents on New Year’s Day, walked out of the federal courthouse in downtown Burlington on Wednesday with his arms raised and tears running down his cheeks. He’d just been released on bail, unexpectedly, by U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford.
Fifty or so people were packed onto the courtroom’s wooden benches for Wednesday’s hearing, then hugged each other when Crawford announced his decision. Hussien’s wife, Runbila Aden, wiped tears from her eyes.
The judge said there was “no case at all” to support detaining Hussien any longer and highlighted the national climate, including the “extraordinary circumstances of roundups and detentions of thousands around the U.S.” and the “debasement of certain groups, like the Somali community,” that surrounded Hussien’s detention.
When the hearing was over, Hussien walked into the courtroom’s gallery, still in his green prison uniform, where friends and relatives hugged him tightly. He changed his clothes in a courtroom bathroom and then walked out into the sunshine, where dozens of supporters exploded into cheers.
He addressed the crowd in Somali and a friend translated his words.
“I have been hearing your stories and demonstrations and received the letters you sent to me in jail,” Hussien said. “I don’t have words for it — all I know is Vermont is my home. I’m not going anywhere.”
“My story is not unique,” he went on. “I’m excited for what happened in court today, and I thank you all for coming out.”
Hussien was released on the condition that he continue to appear for future court hearings for his immigration case and federal case, both of which are ongoing.
Judge Crawford noted that he received about 40 letters attesting to Hussien’s good character, including many from the youth soccer community, where Hussien’s stepson is a coach. Six boys in matching red soccer uniforms sat together on one of the courtroom benches.
Before making his bail determination, Crawford read aloud one of the letters, from an eighth-grade boy named Sam.
In the letter, the boy wrote, “Mr. Hussien is always there to support us at our soccer games,” and asked that he be released from detention. The boy went on to say that his teammate and friend, Hussien’s son, does not deserve to be separated from his father and asked the judge to reunite them.
Hussien has lived in Vermont for 13 years and runs his own company, Freedom Cab. After coming to the U.S. as a refugee in 2004, he eventually settled in Burlington with his wife and their five children, now ages 3 through 17, all of whom are U.S. citizens.
Court records show Hussien came to the U.S. as a refugee under the name of a relative, Abukar Hassan Abdule. In 2011, he became a naturalized citizen under that name.
In 2019, he was convicted in a trial in the U.S. District of Maine of three federal crimes related to immigration fraud for using his relative’s name in his naturalization proceedings and passport application.
His citizenship was revoked, downgrading his immigration status to permanent residency, or a green card. He was sentenced to two months in prison, and, when he was released in early 2020, ICE immediately took him into custody and began deportation proceedings against him.
A few months later, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and Hussien and other prisoners were released on the condition that they regularly check in with immigration authorities as their cases wound through the immigration court system. For the past six years, he has met those conditions.
He was detained unexpectedly on January 1 while sitting in his cab outside of the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport.
After the hearing, Hussien’s attorney, Brett Stokes, director of the Center for Justice Reform Clinic at Vermont Law & Graduate School, addressed the crowd of supporters.
“Today, we can be thankful someone is going home to their family, and we are going to keep on fighting,” he said. Then he rushed off to another “emergency.”
Another client of his, Steven Tendo, had just been detained by ICE.
