A
recent NPR article
detailed the plight of U.S. citizens who find themselves in deportation
proceedings, unable to prove their legitimate citizenship. This is the
case even though it is illegal for U.S. immigration authorizations to
hold American citizens in immigration detention. For some citizens, trying
to prove their citizenship is much more difficult than expected. While
this might seem like an isolated incident, the reality is that hundreds
of Americans each year find themselves in this very predicament. More
specifically, the data analyzed by NPR indicates that between 2007 and
2015, local jails held 693 Americans on federal detainers, which are requests
from immigration authorities to hold particular inmates. During that same
time frame, immigration detention facilities held an additional 818 Americans.
While these individuals represent only a tiny percentage of the individuals
held on federal detainers or housed in immigration detention facilities,
the reality is that these detentions never should occur in the first place.
To make matters worse, many of these individuals, even after asserting
their citizenship, found themselves enmeshed in a confusing system which
they never should have been part of in the first place. Some were detained
for days or months, some were denied bail, and most were not even given
access to a lawyer. There is no right to a court-appointed attorney in
civil immigration cases. Although Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) declined NPR’s request for an interview, one ICE official
did say that it was far more common to encounter immigrants falsely claiming
citizenship in order to avoid removal, rather than individuals who are
actually citizens. Plus, the ICE official claimed that there were several
effective safeguards in place designed to prevent American citizens from
being wrongfully detained for immigration purposes. At
Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C., our goal is to help you or your family member gain release from immigration
detention. We dedicate our practice to protecting the rights of noncitizens
while detained and working toward release from detention, no matter what
type of deportation charges an individual may be facing. We know how to
evaluate your case, explore your options, and provide you with the strongest
defense against removal possible. Contact your
California deportation defense attorneys
today and set up an appointment to speak with our legal team.
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