Matthew Kolken on Deportation And Removal

"Deported" U.S. Citizen Girl Reunited with her Family

Emily Ruiz, a four-year-old citizen, has been returned to the United States after being "deported" to Guatemala by the Obama administration.  CNN has reported that she was flown first class, and is now back with her parents.  

That's the good news.

The bad news is that the administration is now trying to spin this incident as a simple miscommunication, and their spin is being bolstered by Emily's parents who have no lawful status in the United States, and who may become subject to the same fate that already befell their daughter. No motivation there.

Ruben Navarrette Jr. has properly characterized what happened to this young girl.  He writes: 

I will not be cajoled into referring to what happened to Emily as a "de facto deportation."

Baloney. The girl was on U.S. soil, and then she wasn't. And she was sent back to Guatemala, her parents' homeland, under the authority of the U.S. government - specifically, U.S. Customs and Border Protection. And she was, throughout her ordeal, in the custody of the U.S government. That's a deportation.

You can say the process was misapplied in this case because Emily is a U.S. citizen. But let's not allow the government or anyone else to lessen a grave injustice by calling it by anything but its proper name.

So let me ask you this rhetorical question: Would the Obama administration have "deported" Emily, a United States citizen by birth, if she was white, and was returning to the United States from England?

I'm just sayin'.

Myth: Obama is pro-immigration

I just read a great article written by Alex Nowrasteh that echoes everything that I have been saying over the past two years about President Obama and his administration's immigration policies. In a nutshell, the article points out that the President's policies are enforcement-centric, and that he is "the most anti-immigration president in generations."

To this end, the President just went on record stating that he will not suspend deportations for individuals who are working without authorization, and will also not offer temporary protected status to individuals who face a threat of deportation.  What this means is that the President is deporting immigrants in record numbers, while offering no solutions.

The bottom line is that you can't be fooled by the President when he gives lip-service to immigration reform because his actions tell the real story.  Let's hope that in 2012 the President faces a primary challenge.  It may be time to dust off those Hillary for President signs.

Utah Gets it: New Law to provide Work Authorization for Guest Workers

4-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Child Deported

Does the $3 Billion Dollar Border Fence Work?

95-year-old WWII veteran learns he's not a US citizen and may face deportation

163 Immigrants arrested in Virginia in 3-day immigration sweep

The Washington Post has reported that 163 immigrants were arrested in Northern Virginia over a three-day enforcement surge involving federal, state and local police.  Of the 163 individuals arrested, 130 had criminal records: 85  with felonies and 45 with misdemeanors.

The following video is courtesy of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Ninth Circuit Judge Harry Pregerson’s Dissent: "I find the result here to be absurd."

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has put the final nail in the deportation coffin for a father of five United States citizen children.  The father's application for cancellation of removal was denied, and he was ordered deported despite the fact that the immigration court found that his children would suffer an exceptional and extremely unusual hardship if his wife, also in proceedings, was deported.  

This hardship finding for his wife was predicated on the fact that one of the couple's five children was born prematurely and suffers from developmental delays and neurological abnormalities.  A second child suffers from febrile seizures, high fevers, vomiting, and has difficulty breathing, which has required several emergency room visits.  Doctors are unable to diagnose the problem.  

Despite the fact that the father is the sole breadwinner of the family, has no criminal convictions, stable employment, and has paid his taxes every year since arriving in the United States, the immigration court found that he did not have good moral character due to the fact that he paid a smuggler to enter the United States.

Judge Harry Pregerson dissented, calling the decision "absurd," the reasoning behind the decision "misguided", and the result of the case "unconscionable." 

Keep fighting the good fight Judge Pregerson.

Click here to read the decision.

Nonpartisan Report: U.S. Immigration enforcement riddled with inhumane treatment, and denial of due process

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has compiled a comprehensive 155-page report that was based on evidence obtained from six immigration detention centers located in Arizona and Texas. The conclusion of the report is that the U.S. immigration law is enforced in a discriminatory manner, that enforcement relies on racial profiling, and that conditions in immigration detention are not commensurate with human dignity and humane treatment.  

The Obama administration was provided with a draft of the report in August 2010.  The administration's response was to defend their approach toward detention and deportation.

Not good enough Mr. President.

Not even close.

Click here to view the report in its entirety. 

11th Circuit on the Categorical Approach

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has just reversed a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals finding that a conviction for the extortionate extension of credit under 18 U.S.C. § 892(a) is not categorically a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16, and therefore not an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(F). 

The 11th ruled that the Statute covers offenses that do not constitute crimes of violence and remanded the case back to the BIA for a proper analysis. See Accardo v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 3/10/11, No. 09-15446 (11th Cir.).  

Click here to read the decision.