More people are becoming aware of the massive injustices increasingly faced by undocumented immigrants. But now it turns out that even legal immigrants are being deported based on next-to-nothing.
From Asian-Nation:
As the New York Times reports, many legal immigrants are being caught in a web of technicalities, bureaucracy, and injustice and in fact, end up fighting orders from the Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE, the successor to the INS) to be deported back to their sending country, even though they came to the U.S. legally […]
The article includes many examples of how the ICE has used various bureaucratic items to order legal immigrants to be deported: a discrepancy regarding marriage status from 25 years ago, a 10-year old misdemeanor conviction that was wiped from one’s record, green card holders mistakenly voting in state elections, failing to update one’s home address, falsely accusing someone of committing a felony, and not showing up to an ICE office to be fingerprinted even though the person was a quadriplegic. […]
Apparently, a person’s decades of positive actions and contributions to his/her community don’t matter in whether or not they should be considered an American.
What seems to be more important these days is whether they’ve completed a form properly or not.
As C.N. at Asian-Nation points out, this sort of thing is a natural byproduct of the climate created by the “war on terror.”
If I drive around without a license for 10 years without getting caught, and then get busted, should the default be to let me go or prosecute me for not being legally licensed?
On a side note dealing with illegal immigration, I found it very amusing that they caught Cesar Laurean in mexico because he spoke spanish poorly and that prompted a backround check. HOW DARE THEY!
Some of these stories are sympathetic, like the Servanos. Others are less so, like the guy who beat up his girlfriend.
No system will be perfect, but I am inclined to agree that legal immigrants, those who go through the system, should be given a bit more slack and a bit more understanding.
But now it turns out that even legal immigrants are being deported based on next-to-nothing.
Hm. First, none of the cases cited have so far resulted in an actual deportation. So to make the thread title and your statement above accurate you’ll have to either change them to “… are being threatened with deportation ….” or add some cites of actual deportations and show that this has increased over previous years.
Robert is also correct in that while some of these cases should have been handled better, misrepresenting information about marriage or a previous criminal record is good reason to raise suspicion. Remember that the burden for knowing and following the law is on the immigrant, not on the U.S. government.
The article says:
An assertion for which the author offers exactly no evidence. Such as, for example, a comparison of how many “innocent bystanders” have been affected vs. how many bad guys have actually been caught, plus an estimate of how many bad guys have been deterred from trying to enter the U.S. illegally in the first place. Then there’s the issue of what the definition of “innocent bystander” is. Considering a man who conceals a conviction for domestic violence as an “innocent bystander” is a novel position for this blog.
The linked article states:
The plight of immigrant widows and widowers is discussed in Episode 353 of the public radio show This American Life, entitled The Audacity of Government. The second segment of that show, entitled “This American Wife,” uncovers a strange practice within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. If a foreign national marries a U.S. citizen and schedules an interview for a green card, but the U.S. citizen dies before the interview takes place, the foreign national is scheduled for deportation with no appeal—even if the couple has children who are U.S. citizens. Courts have repeatedly declared this practice illegal, but this has not altered the Government’s behavior. The 20-min. segment features interviews with a lawyer representing 130+ people who are trapped in this situation.
Does this reflect anxiety over the need to protect our borders? Perhaps. But the first segment of that This American Life episode, entitled “The Prez vs. The Commish,” discusses the Administration’s interference with the operations of the US/Canadian International Boundary Commission. In the interest of monitoring the borders, the Commission barred construction of structures within X feet of the border. The Administration concluded that the need to monitor our borders must give way to a more fundamental need – private property rights – and has therefore basically abrogated the 100-yr-old treaty. Go figure.
Citizens who are Latino have been deported and threatened with deportion as well. I’ve spoken with several of the latter in recent months who were threatened at the county jail one after receiving a bad beating by a police officer.
I agree that it’s bad that the citizenship process involves so much paperwork and so many requirements to meet, and that ICE is taking a hard line on people who don’t meet them. But people are way too quick to blame problems with our immigration policies on the War on Terror. The laws that these deportations are based on, and the attitude to enforcing them, date back to 1996. Click through to the NYTimes article linked in the original post, and you’ll see a nice chart illustrating that Bill Clinton is as much to blame as George Bush.
I think this is bullshit. I am dealing with my dad right now. He experienced an innocent mistake back 27 years ago because he did not speak English. He was accused of something he did not do because of his lack of English. He was forced to sign a confession because he did not know what he was signing. Now INS has taken him for deportation. He came to this country legally and hoped of becoming a US citizen. He has been a great citizens since then. He pays his taxes, he has great credit and is very hard working. He goes to work in the morning and comes home at night. He started off as a busboy making 2 dollars an hour and now owns his own restaurant. He does not buy much for himself but gives to his family and people in India. He still carries the same wallet that he had 30 years ago even though we tried to give him a new wallet. Without looking into the matter ICE came into my parents house very inappropriately and arrested my dad. Once I found out about this matter I went to the processing center where they gave me no answers and where they would not let me see my dad. The officer that took my dad left a phone number and address and told my sister that we would be allowed to see him. However, when I went there they would not let me see him. Instead they were rude and said without knowing my dad’s situation that ” He would not be here if he did not do something wrong.” ICE and INS are cold hearted organizations. They are trying to fill there quota so they can justify their budget and jobs. They don’t care about the person or what their family might be going through. I will help my dad with all the money I have but what INS is doing right now to all these innocent people needs to stop. I hope that people can be more understanding. I have never lost fate in this system as I do right now. I am embarrassed by our country.
Some agents at my city’s office for Border Patrol complained that quotas were forced on them and if they didn’t fill them, they would get disciplined which if true is illegal. They had to arrest 150 undocumented immigrants but during the final week of January and so they raided a day laborer site and a Greyhound bus station and rounded up lots of Latinos of which about 1/3 were undocumented. The police which helped Border Patrol and later denied it were shown pulling over some Latinos 3-4 times who had papers. Whites were in the same locations and were ignored.
Which has led to some major demonstrations in my city during the past week.
Quotas are alleged by border patrol agents
It is a fact that many Legal Immigrants have been deported! A bus load from Philadelphia is currently in California AS WE SPEAK! They will be in Cambodia Thursday.
The US Government is paying the Cambodian Government $30,000.00 of our tax dollars to take these people who has every right to be in America. Now they are are sent back to Cambodia leaving they’re kids, wife, husbands, moms and dads, here in America. They have serve time in jail in the past. These people have changed and started a new life. These are not repeat offenders!
Here are some crimes that can get you deported (but not limited to):
*Writing bad checks
*Domestic Violence against a spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend
*Stalking
*Renting a car and not returning it as scheduled(Auto Theft)
*Using False papers to get a job
*Lying to a Police Officer or Judge about your name
*Shoplifting
*Burglary of a house or store
*Fists fights, especially with a weapon
*Kidnapping your girlfriend to marry her
*Possessing drugs, using drugs, or selling drugs, even a very small amount
*Having sex with someone who is under the age of 18
*Committing a crime as part of a gang
*Threatening to harm or kill someone
These people have never stepped foot on the soil of the country that they are being deported to! These people were born in refugee camps. They only speak English. This is cruel. Please read the facts. We desperately need Immigration Reform. These are not Illegal Immigrants. These people have a Social Security Number, a Bank Account, a Drivers License. They pay their Taxes! These people are not repeat offenders.