Imm legal syst does not protect rights

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Imm legal syst does not protect rights
16
Tue, 04-14-2009 - 4:20pm
Immigration legal system does not protect rights

By SUZANNE GAMBOA
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER





 
photo

 
This photo taken on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008 shows Rene Saldivar, left, with his brother-in-law Aquiles Rojas in Ceres, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

WASHINGTON -- Nahuel Castrucci had no lawyer when he went before an immigration judge the first time, or the second time. He sat speechless and handcuffed as the judge was about to expel him from his own country.


That's when his mother jumped up in the courtroom and shouted, "He's a citizen! He's a U.S. citizen! He shouldn't be here!"


She was right. Her outburst prompted the judge to ask for more investigation from lawyers, eventually leading to Castrucci's release.


The American judicial system deems everyone innocent until proven guilty and guarantees a fair hearing with a lawyer - but not when it comes to immigration. Then there are far fewer rights. And as the system comes under pressure from a flood of new cases, the strain is showing.


One result is that U.S. citizens arrested as illegal immigrants or deportable residents cannot count on the legal system as a safety net. The odds are stacked against them. On the basis of interviews, lawsuits and documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, The Associated Press has documented more than 55 such cases since 2000, and immigration lawyers count hundreds more.


Those who go through the immigration legal system can be arrested without a warrant. They are not read their rights unless it's a criminal case. They do not get a lawyer unless they can pay or find one who will work for free. They can be deported without hearings. And until this January, they didn't get a free phone call.


"They are deporting a very large number of people in very fast ways, often under the radar of any review by courts," said Daniel Kanstroom, director of the International Human Rights Program at the Boston College Law School. "Deportation of citizens is the tip of the iceberg. ... The system is in dramatic, desperate need of reform."



Remainder of article at http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1110ap_mistaken_for_illegal_ii.html


Read the remainder of the article for a few of the cases.  I guess, just because one is an American citizen, it doesn't mean that we can't be deported anyway!  Sheesh!


 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Wed, 04-15-2009 - 9:50am
Is

 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Wed, 04-15-2009 - 12:47pm

I'd bet that they are the majority.


Avatar for ddnlj
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 04-15-2009 - 1:13pm

My first question is why did Mr. Castrucci's mother have to speak up for him? Was he not able to speak for himself? Deaf mute, perhaps?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Wed, 04-15-2009 - 2:00pm

Until 9/11, very few people I knew had copies of their birth certificates in their homes or their wallets.


iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
Wed, 04-15-2009 - 3:43pm
I need birth certificates to enroll my children into school.
Avatar for lucy4980
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 04-15-2009 - 4:42pm

I never had a copy of my birth certificate until I applied for a passport when I was 25.

Avatar for ddnlj
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 04-16-2009 - 8:20am

No one "carries" around their birth certificate, but you should be able to lay your hands on it if need be. I have my birth certificate, my husband's BC, as well as my son's original. I also have copies of both my stepson's BC's. These were necessary when the kids were getting their driver's license, not to mention when my oldest stepson joined the Air Force.


Having such documentation available when needed is called responsibility.

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Avatar for ddnlj
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 04-16-2009 - 8:25am

Times have changed and now it's hard to tell a legal American from an illegal one. Documentation can be forged, but right now it's all most of us have to show who we are. That's why it's so important to keep up with it and be able to present it at any time.


We need a better way to truly root out those who don't belong from those who do.

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Avatar for lucy4980
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 04-16-2009 - 4:16pm

I disagree.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Thu, 04-16-2009 - 4:34pm
"Show me your papers" has a decidedly authoritarian ring to it.
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