Matthew Kolken on Deportation And Removal

BIA Decision: It is improper to Terminate Removal Proceedings for Individuals that have been Granted Temporary Protected Status

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) has released the following decision:

Matter of Maria Armida SOSA VENTURA, 25 I&N Dec. 391 (BIA 2010):

(1) A grant of Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) waives certain grounds of inadmissibility or deportability solely for the limited purpose of permitting an aliento remain and work temporarily in the United States for the period of time that TPS is effective.

(2) It is not proper to terminate an alien’s removal proceedings based on a grant of TPS.

DOJ Press Release: Man Found Guilty for sex trafficking and human smuggling

The following press release was posted on the DOJ website:

WASHINGTON - A federal jury today convicted Amador Cortes-Meza, 36, of Mexico, of multiple charges of sex trafficking and human smuggling offenses related to a scheme to force women and juveniles into prostitution. The jury found Cortes-Meza guilty on all 19 counts after a trial lasting approximately two weeks.

“The exploitation of these vulnerable individuals is a violation of the fundamental rights on which our country was founded, and is intolerable in a nation that prides itself on freedom,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to prosecute vigorously the trafficking of human beings to vindicate the rights of those held in modern-day slavery, whether for labor or for sexual exploitation.”

U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “This defendant preyed on the most vulnerable of victims--girls and young women hoping for a better life-- through promises of jobs or marriage. He then physically abused them, enslaved them, and forced them into prostitution. This trial provided a glimpse into the monstrous world of human trafficking. We are committed to giving voice to the victims of these horrific crimes and holding the defendants accountable for their crimes.”

 “We hope that the victims who suffered at the hands of this monster can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that justice has been served,” said Brock Nicholson, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office that oversees the Carolinas and Georgia. “We are committed to working with our local, state and federal partners to target human traffickers who think that their heinous crimes will go unchecked.”

According to the evidence presented in court, from Spring 2006 through June 2008, Amador Cortes-Meza and others charged in the conspiracy recruited and enticed approximately 10 victims to enter the United States illegally from Mexico and come to the Atlanta area.  Amador Cortes-Meza then forced them into prostitution for the financial benefit of the members of the conspiracy. He lured the young women and girls to the U.S. by promising better lives, legitimate employment or romantic relationships with him.   A brother and two nephews of Amador Cortes-Meza were previously convicted after pleading guilty to sex trafficking charges related to this scheme.

Nine of the victims addressed the court about what they suffered at the hands of this sex trafficking ring, telling of physical threats, beatings, and intimidation which caused them to work as prostitutes against their will. Evidence at trial showed that after smuggling the victims into the United States, Amador Cortes-Meza forced them to engage in prostitution by isolating them from their families, brutally beating them, and threatening to harm them and their loved ones.  One victim testified that he told her that “he was going to hit her where it hurt the most” and she took that to mean he was going to go after her family.  Another victim testified that the defendant told her he would kill her parents in Mexico if he was ever arrested. On a nightly basis, Amador Cortes-Meza provided the victims to drivers who drove them to apartments and homes in Duluth, Ga.; Chamblee, Ga.; Canton, Ga.; Marietta, Ga.; Forrest Park, Ga.; and as far away as Alabama and North Carolina to provide commercial sex to as many as 40 customers a night. The victims testified that the clients were charged $25-30 for 10 to 15 minutes of time with them from which the drivers were given $10. 

The jury convicted Amador Cortes-Meza on 19 counts, including offenses of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; sex trafficking of minors; conspiracy; importation and harboring of aliens for the purposes of prostitution; and smuggling aliens into the United States.  Amador Cortes-Meza faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Human trafficking prosecutions are a top priority for the Justice Department.  The Department of Homeland Security Tip Line to report trafficking crimes is 1-866-347-2423. 

This case was investigated by ICE/HSI Special Agents assigned to the Atlanta Special Agent in Charge office.  

Deputy Chief Karima Maloney of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Coppedge prosecuted the case.

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Civil Rights Division

In Colorado 85 Convicted Aliens Arrested During 4-Day Sweep

It has been reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted a four day sweep in Colorado that resulted in the arrest of 85 convicted aliens, 18 of which had already been ordered deported but were fugitives.  73 were men and 12 were women, ranging in age from 34 to 63. The individuals were nationals of nine countries: El Salvador 7, Poland 1, Dominican Republic 1, Guatemala 2, Mexico 66, Uganda 1, South Korea 1, Honduras 5, and Mongolia 1.

Head of ICE John Morton commented:

“These surge operations, and our daily targeting of aliens with criminal convictions, are some of the many tools that ICE uses to effectively reduce crime at the street level in communities throughout the United States.”

Click here to read more of the report.

ICE Press Release: Terrorist Deported to Pakistan

The following press release was posted on the ICE website:

MIAMI - A Pakistani national convicted for conspiracy to levy war against the U. S government through terrorism was removed Thursday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Miami.

Hamad Riaz Samana, 26, was admitted to the United States at Los Angeles, CA as a lawful permanent resident on Aug. 5, 2000. After Samana admitted membership in the JAM'IYYAT UL-ISLAM IS-SAHEEH cell during an FBI interview, he was arrested on Aug. 2, 2005.

On Aug. 31, 2005, Samana was indicted for terrorism-related conspiracy charges, and 11 counts of robbery. Subsequently, on Aug. 17, 2009, Samana was convicted in the Central District of California for conspiracy to levy war against the U. S government through terrorism and sentenced to 70 months in federal prison.

On Aug. 30, Samana entered ICE ERO custody after he was served with a notice to appear charging him as removable on several grounds, including under section 237(a)(2)(D)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as an alien convicted of a crime relating to treason and sedition. On Sept. 30, Samana was ordered removed to Pakistan by an immigration judge.

"ICE removals of identified terrorists and those individuals that have intent to do harm against the United States are critical in securing America's borders and safeguarding the country," said Marc Moore, field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Miami. "ICE prioritizes the arrest and removal of convicted criminal aliens and those who are a threat to the national security of the United States and as a result, our communities are safer and more secure."

Upon his Nov. 18 arrival in Pakistan, Samana was turned over to Pakistani law enforcement.

BIA Decision: unreasonably placing a child in a situation that poses a threat of injury to the child’s life or health is equal to child abuse

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) has issued the following precedent deicion: Matter of Dency Epen SORAM, 25 I&N Dec. 378 (BIA 2010).

The case invovled a citizen of the Federated States of Micronesia who was convicted by plea of guilty to the crime of “child abuse—no injury—knowingly or recklessly” in violation of sections 18-6-401(1) and (7)(b)(I) of the Colorado Revised Statutes.

The BIA held that:

The crime of unreasonably placing a child in a situation that poses a threat of injury to the child’s life or health in violation of section 18-6-401(1)(a) of the Colorado Revised Statutes is categorically a crime of child abuse under section 237(a)(2)(E)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E)(i) (2006), even though no proof of actual harm or injury to the child is required. Matter of Velazquez-Herrera, 24 I&N Dec. 503 (BIA 2008), clarified.

Click here to read the full decision.

Kolken & Kolken

College student body president admits he's an undocumented immigrant

Study: 31% of All Immigration Cases Rejected by Immigration Courts because ICE Seeking to Deport people who aren't Deportable

The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a nonpartisan data gathering, data research and data distribution organization at Syracuse University, has reported that there has been an exponential increase of rejected deportation cases by Immigration Courts.

TRAC's report includes the following findings:

• During the last three months of FY 2010, the rejection rate of ICE requests for removal (deportation) was nearly one out of three or 31 percent. This turndown rate is up from what it was — one out of every four — 12 months earlier.
• For all of FY 2010, some courts turned down ICE removal requests more than half of the time. Among them were the Immigration Courts in New York City (70% turned down), Oregon (63% turned down), Los Angeles (63% turned down), Miami (59% turned down) and Philadelphia (55% turned down).
• Considering the records for the last five years, the information shows that the number of those cases where ICE sought a removal that the courts then determined were not subject to deportation because the individuals were entitled to reside in the United States was considerable, more than a quarter of a million individuals.

Looks like the Obama administration is being just a tad (31%) overzealous in reaching their 400,000 deportations per year mandate.

Click here to read the entire report.

Study: In New York City Most Dangerous Criminals Less Likely to be Deported than Low Level Offenders

Justice Strategies, a prisoner advocacy group based in New York, has analyzed statistics that show that in New York City the Obama administration is not targeting the most dangerous criminals for deportation, as they have claimed.

The study concludes that noncitizen prisoners that have been accused of misdemeanors are identified for deportation more often than individuals charged with felonies. Moreover, individuals that have been charged with lower-level felonies were identified for deportation more often than those charged with more serious crimes.

The report's findings include:

• In New York City there is no correlation between ICE detainer issuance and the severity of a criminal charge.
• Over half of ICE detainers are issued within one day, indicating that the screening process is not investigative.
• Controlling for race and offense level, noncitizens with a drug-related top charge and an ICE detainer spend 73 days longer in jail before being discharged, on average, than those without an ICE detainer.
• Noncitizens with an ICE detainer are effectively barred from pre-trial release on bail, no matter the offense level.

Click here to read the entire report.

Two More Immigrants Die in Immigration Detention

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued a pair of press releases announcing the deaths of two immigrants in immigration detention.

The first individual, Antonio Gomez-Hernandez, was a 66-year-old Mexican national.  Mr. Gomez-Hernandez died on November 5, 2010 at a Chicago area hospital from liver failure.  He had been in ICE custody since October 14, 2010.

The second individual, John Sterling, was 54-year-old Jamaican national that was being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pending removal from the United States.  Mr. Sterling's death was caused by organ failure associated with T-cell lymphoma.  Mr. Sterling had been in ICE custody since Dec. 3, 2009.  It would be interesting to know whether he received proper medical treatment in the 11 months that he was held in ICE custody prior to his death, and whether his prolonged incarceration was a contributing factor.

My condolences go out to the families of these two individuals.

23 New Immigration Judges Sworn in

EOIR Press Release:

The Executive Office for Immigration Review
Swears in 23 New Immigration Judges
Judge Corps Reaches 262 Serving in 59 Immigration Courts

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler invested 23
new immigration judges during a ceremony held at the Executive Office for Immigration
Review’s (EOIR) headquarters on Nov. 5, 2010.

Attorney General Eric Holder appointed Silvia R. Arellano, Jerry A. Beatmann Sr.,
Jesse B. Christensen, Steven J. Connelly, Philip J. Costa, V. Stuart Couch, Thomas G. Crossan Jr.,
Leo A. Finston, Saul Greenstein, Amy C. Hoogasian, Stuart F. Karden, F. James Loprest Jr.,
Lisa Luis, Joren Lyons, H. Kevin Mart, Sheila McNulty, Maureen S. O’Sullivan, Daniel J.
Santander, Alice Segal, Andrea H. Sloan, Dan Trimble, Eileen R. Trujillo, Clarence M. Wagner
Jr., and Virna A. Wright to these important public service positions. Andrea H. Sloan entered on
duty on Oct. 24, 2010, but was unable to attend Friday’s ceremony.

“We have made great progress since we began our robust immigration judge hiring
initiative earlier this year,” said Chief Immigration Judge Brian M. O’Leary. “These new
immigration judges bring the judge corps of our 59 immigration courts to 262, and we expect to
further enhance the corps by additional immigration judges before the end of the calendar year.”

The hiring process for most of these new immigration judges began in December 2009. After initial screening, EOIR’s human resources section referred 1,782 applications to the Office
of the Chief Immigration Judge. Four panels of assistant chief immigration judges screened the
applications for the following criteria: ability to demonstrate the appropriate temperament to
serve as a judge; knowledge of immigration laws and procedures; substantial litigation
experience, preferably in a high-volume context; experience handling complex legal issues;
experience conducting administrative hearings; and knowledge of judicial practices and
procedures. The most highly recommended candidates were selected for interviews. Top candidates were then referred for a second review and interview by a panel of senior Department
of Justice officials. The Attorney General made the final selections.

The new immigration judges will preside in the immigration courts in Florence, Ariz.;
Los Angeles and San Francisco, Calif.; Denver, Colo.; Miami and Orlando, Fla.; Lumpkin, Ga.;
Honolulu, Hawaii; Chicago, Ill.; Oakdale, La.; Charlotte, N.C.; Newark, N.J.; Batavia and New
York, N.Y.; Portland, Ore.; and Houston and Pearsall, Texas.

To view their biographies, please click here.

–– EOIR ––