It depends of your friend can apply for Political Ayslum. If he has been here for more than one year, he cannot. To apply for Political ayslum, the application must be filed within one year after the entry of the US.
He still can contact his family or friend or a lawyer. It is not true that CIS will not let him to contact anyone. It is against law here in the US and CIS as a government agency usually will not do it. If it is true that he is not allowed to contact anyone, he can sue the CIS and may get a big compensation from CIS!