Representing Clients in Removal Proceedings

After a tumultuous end of the summer and fall representing clients in immigration courts, I can finally come to some conclusions about what it takes to represent clients in removal proceedings in the current immigration climate.
First I will say that I was surprised (or not) of the tremendous response the recent Georgia immigration law had upon the local police officers. They were extremely busy arresting every person they could stop, for even a minor traffic violation, if the person was a suspect illegal immigrant. In the past couple of months, hundreds of people were arrested and, most of them, ended in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) custody.
I have read numerous articles that were describing the conditions in which these people were held in jail (for a civil offense). Even more disturbing, there were articles talking about people that have died in these "immigration jails".
I had the occasion myself to visit such a jail, in the process of helping my client, and I thought it was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. I had to see my client inside the jail, passing through concrete wall corridors without any windows, hearing the heavy metal doors closing behind me, and avoiding any eye contact with the prisoners that were staring behind glass walls. My client lost a lot of weight in jail because they were served one meal per day and he got sick from the air conditioned since he only had his underwear and the prisoner's jumpsuit on him. He has also told me that the immigration offenders were mingled with all the other criminal offenders.
My experience in representing the client in front of the immigration court was otherwise positive because I believed the judge was fair and the process itself enfolded the way I expected it to.
One thing is for sure: if someone does not have proper immigration documentation in United States these days, they need to seriously consider the possibility that, one day, they can find themselves in one of these immigration jails and be deported. Therefore, any person in this situation should consider talking with an immigration attorney that can evaluate their legal rights and help them to obtain legal immigration status before it is too late.

WARNING: NOT AN AMNESTY PROGRAM!

Trusted Source: American Immigration Lawyer Association. Please click on the title to read the entire Consumer Advisory Letter. 


Obama's Administration announcement of August 18, 2011, is NOT an Amnesty program! 

Do NOT believe anyone who tells you they can sign you up for a work permit

(Employment Authorization Document or “EAD”) or get you legal status

based on the Secretary Napolitano’s August 18, 2011 announcement!

Anyone who says that is not to be trusted!

There is NO “safe” way to turn yourself in to immigration and there is NO

guarantee that your case will be considered “low priority.” ANY person who

comes into contact with immigration authorities may be arrested, detained

or even removed.

Only a QUALIFIED IMMIGRATION LAWYER can evaluate your case and tell

your about your rights.

Do NOT seek legal advice from a notario or immigration consultant.

For more information about avoiding immigration scams go to

www.StopNotarioFraud.org

Freeing Illegal Immigrants Facing Deportation in Georgia

Under new guidelines the Obama administration announced last week, Homeland Security said ICE “is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that prioritizes the removal of criminal aliens, recent border crossers and egregious immigration law violators, such as those who have been previously removed from the U.S. The agency exercises prosecutorial discretion, on a case-by-case basis, as necessary to focus resources on these priorities.”
Following the new guidelines, Homeland Security Department officials confirmed that Pedro Morales, 19, of Dalton and Luis “Ricky” Hernandez, 18, of Calhoun had been let out of the Stewart Detention Center in South Georgia and their cases dismissed yesterday. 
While critics of the new guidelines say the Obama administration is ignoring federal immigration laws by freeing illegal immigrants, Charles Kuck, the teens' attorney, and the past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (and whom I had the pleasure to know as my Professor in law school and I for whom I have a great respect), said ICE’s decision to free his clients indicates “there is a return of some semblance of sanity to our [immigration] system.”
Please click on the title to read the entire article published in Atlanta Journal Constitution on August 23, 2011.