Angelo Paparelli Quoted in the Los Angeles Times
"Sold into slavery as a girl, Shyima Hall becomes a U.S. citizen"

Seyfarth Shaw Immigration partner Angelo Paparelli was quoted in an article in the L.A. Times on December 16. The article discussed the story of Shyima Hall, who was smuggled out of Egypt at the age of 10 when her parents sold her to work as a slave to an Irvine, Calif. family. She toiled for three years before the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigated the case after a concerned neighbor tipped off child welfare authorities. Now at 22 years old, Shyima has spoken frequently on combating human trafficking and now dreams to become a federal agent for the ICE.

On Thursday, December 15, Angelo attended Shyima's swearing in ceremony in Montebello, Calif. He represented Shyima pro bono and noted that her citizen application was filed under a special provision for juvenile immigrants. He also pointed out that her decision to stay in the United States was supported from the beginning by county officials.

"She has literally gone through a living hell, and now she wants to give back," Angelo commented. "She's there to give other people courage."

Click here to read the full article: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-1216-shyima-hall-20111216,0,1583100.story