3 ms·

How can someone with legal status be deported without cause? Is there any proof of this?

toomuchtodo 7y ago
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article214844345.html https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article21...
- manigandham 7y ago
  "Documented immigrants can now be deported from the United States if they break the rules of federal and state programs that offer public benefits to immigrants." Yes, criminal convictions can cause you to lose your immigration status, whether that's a visa or green card. Every legal immigrant knows this and it's been the law forever. This is not an example of surprise deportation of a legal resident.
ceejayoz 7y ago
Oh, it gets worse than that. Here's a case of a citizen held for more than three years in ICE detention. He's not eligible for compensation, because they held him long enough that the statute of limitations expired. > There is no right to a court-appointed attorney in immigration court. Watson, who was 23 and didn't have a high school diploma when he entered ICE custody, didn't have a lawyer of his own. So he hand-wrote a letter to immigration officers, attaching his father's naturalization certificate, and kept repeating his status to anyone who would listen. > Still, Immigration and Customs Enforcement kept Watson imprisoned as a deportable alien for nearly 3 1/2 years. Then it released Watson, who was from New York, in rural Alabama with no money and no explanation. Deportation proceedings continued for another year. > Watson was correct all along: He was a U.S. citizen. After he was released, he filed a complaint. Last year, a district judge in New York awarded him $82,500 in damages, citing "regrettable failures of the government." > On Monday, an appeals court ruled that Watson, now 32, is not eligible for any of that money — because while his case is "disturbing," the statute of limitations actually expired while he was still in ICE custody without a lawyer. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/01/540903038/u-s-citizen-held-by-immigration-for-3-years-denied-compensation-by-appeals-court https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/01/540903038...
- manigandham 7y ago
  Yes this is very unfortunate and he definitely deserves damages, just like anyone who's innocent but gets convicted and sentenced to prison. Although he did serve 1 year in prison for selling drugs and that's where the mistake happened. I don't see it being an indication that the average legal resident needs to suddenly be more cautious though.
  - ceejayoz 7y ago
    You don’t see how “even a citizen can take 3+ years detained to prove their citizenship” might be concerning to a green card holder? I'm a former green card holder, now naturalized. This shit is terrifying to me.
    - manigandham 7y ago
      No, it's a single example of an extreme situation. There are also innocent people on death row, struck by lightning, eaten by bears, or a multitude of other unfortunate scenarios which are all exceedingly rare for the majority population. In this case, not going to prison would've prevented this chain of events from ever occurring for this person. It's important to assess the actual risk. I'm a naturalized citizen as well and feel perfectly safe.
microcolonel 7y ago
From the article linked in a sibling comment: “Documented immigrants can now be deported from the United States if they break the rules of federal and state programs that offer public benefits to immigrants. New guidelines implemented last week by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services say that immigrants who abuse “any program related to the reception of public benefits” will be summoned to appear before an immigration court.” Basically... By misrepresenting themselves in order to steal services to which they are not entitled. This seems to me like something that either is already, or ought to be, a crime. There are, however, some more egregious errors on the part of ICE (rather than CIS, mentioned in the article). I just can't trust people to be honest with the details here.
- manigandham 7y ago
  Yea I replied to that. It's always been a crime. I'm a naturalized citizen. We all are made to understand that until we gain citizenship, any criminal actions can stop the process or even lead to cancellation and deportation. It's not a surprise at all.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article214844345.html https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article21...

manigandham 7y ago
"Documented immigrants can now be deported from the United States if they break the rules of federal and state programs that offer public benefits to immigrants." Yes, criminal convictions can cause you to lose your immigration status, whether that's a visa or green card. Every legal immigrant knows this and it's been the law forever. This is not an example of surprise deportation of a legal resident.

ceejayoz 7y ago

Oh, it gets worse than that. Here's a case of a citizen held for more than three years in ICE detention. He's not eligible for compensation, because they held him long enough that the statute of limitations expired. > There is no right to a court-appointed attorney in immigration court. Watson, who was 23 and didn't have a high school diploma when he entered ICE custody, didn't have a lawyer of his own. So he hand-wrote a letter to immigration officers, attaching his father's naturalization certificate, and kept repeating his status to anyone who would listen. > Still, Immigration and Customs Enforcement kept Watson imprisoned as a deportable alien for nearly 3 1/2 years. Then it released Watson, who was from New York, in rural Alabama with no money and no explanation. Deportation proceedings continued for another year. > Watson was correct all along: He was a U.S. citizen. After he was released, he filed a complaint. Last year, a district judge in New York awarded him $82,500 in damages, citing "regrettable failures of the government." > On Monday, an appeals court ruled that Watson, now 32, is not eligible for any of that money — because while his case is "disturbing," the statute of limitations actually expired while he was still in ICE custody without a lawyer. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/01/540903038/u-s-citizen-held-by-immigration-for-3-years-denied-compensation-by-appeals-court https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/01/540903038...

manigandham 7y ago
Yes this is very unfortunate and he definitely deserves damages, just like anyone who's innocent but gets convicted and sentenced to prison. Although he did serve 1 year in prison for selling drugs and that's where the mistake happened. I don't see it being an indication that the average legal resident needs to suddenly be more cautious though.
- ceejayoz 7y ago
  You don’t see how “even a citizen can take 3+ years detained to prove their citizenship” might be concerning to a green card holder? I'm a former green card holder, now naturalized. This shit is terrifying to me.
  - manigandham 7y ago
    No, it's a single example of an extreme situation. There are also innocent people on death row, struck by lightning, eaten by bears, or a multitude of other unfortunate scenarios which are all exceedingly rare for the majority population. In this case, not going to prison would've prevented this chain of events from ever occurring for this person. It's important to assess the actual risk. I'm a naturalized citizen as well and feel perfectly safe.

microcolonel 7y ago

From the article linked in a sibling comment: “Documented immigrants can now be deported from the United States if they break the rules of federal and state programs that offer public benefits to immigrants. New guidelines implemented last week by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services say that immigrants who abuse “any program related to the reception of public benefits” will be summoned to appear before an immigration court.” Basically... By misrepresenting themselves in order to steal services to which they are not entitled. This seems to me like something that either is already, or ought to be, a crime. There are, however, some more egregious errors on the part of ICE (rather than CIS, mentioned in the article). I just can't trust people to be honest with the details here.

manigandham 7y ago
Yea I replied to that. It's always been a crime. I'm a naturalized citizen. We all are made to understand that until we gain citizenship, any criminal actions can stop the process or even lead to cancellation and deportation. It's not a surprise at all.