News Update - August 8, 2008

By Alan Lee, Esq.

No Reservations for ICE’s 'Self-deportation' Invitation

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched a new strategy this week for tracking down undocumented immigrants who have failed to leave the United States after they received a court order to do so: Turn yourself in and deport yourself.

Officially entitled ‘Operation Scheduled Departure,’ the program would allow fugitives (defined as someone who was previously ordered to remove themselves from the United States but have illegally remained) without criminal records to turn themselves in at Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices across the nation. In exchange for ‘self-deporting’, the fugitives would be processed and given a time frame to get their affairs in order before leaving the country – without being put in a detention facility. They will remain under supervision, and possibly be required to wear an electronic monitoring device. Once they turn themselves in to authorities, some may arrange for family members to go with them.

The program has received severe criticism from numerous immigration advocates. Charles Kuck, President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), stated “To encourage the undocumented to turn themselves in, some meaningful incentive must be offered.”

ICE’s response to the incentive question is that by coming forward, the fugitives will be able to smoothly emigrate and “minimize the impact” on their family. This will come about because “participation will place [the fugitives] in compliance with the law.” Thus preventing the risk of sudden arrest and being sent to a detention center. There is also the possibility that said immigrants would be able to bring their families with them.


The author is a 26+ year practitioner of immigration law based in New York City. He was awarded the Sidney A. Levine prize for best legal writing at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1977 and has written extensively on immigration over the past years for the ethnic newspapers, World Journal, Sing Tao, Pakistan Calling, Muhasha and OCS. He has testified as an expert on immigration in civil court proceedings and was recognized by the Taiwan government in 1985 for his work protecting human rights. His article, "The Bush Temporary Worker Proposal and Comparative Pending Legislation: an Analysis" was Interpreter Releases' cover display article at the American Immigration Lawyers Association annual conference in 2004, and his victory in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression nationwide, Firstland International v. INS, successfully challenged INS' policy of over 40 years of revoking approved immigrant visa petitions under a nebulous standard of proof. Its value as precedent, however, was short-lived as it was specifically targeted by the Administration in the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004.

This article © 2008 Alan Lee, Esq.

 

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