Big Law and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund Team Up Against ICE
September 22, 2007 – 12:17 pmThe New York Times reports that the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund and the international law firm LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, LLP have filed a lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement alleging violations of the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches. The case stems from a practice that has become the agency’s modus operandi to enter people’s homes allegedly looking for undocumented immigrants that do not and have never lived there. While they come into the homes, ICE of course makes sure to check everyone’s papers. This practice is part of the agency’s program called “Operation Return to Sender.”
The ICE agents enter people’s homes without any warrants or other judicial authority. According to the article most of the time they simply act on a hunch. When asked about the program earlier in the year, the officials defended it stating:
We would like to find fugitive aliens at 100 percent of the locations we go to, but it’s not an exact science,” Christopher Shanahan, director of the New York field office of the agency’s Detention and Removal Operations, said at the time. Mr. Shanahan, who could not be reached yesterday, is a defendant in the lawsuit along with his superiors in Washington.
I think that this program is simply a reflection of the current state of affairs in the U.S. where the respect for civil liberties and constitutional protections have slowly eroded, giving way to a government that is looking a lot more like the Communist or Fascist governments of the past. In the name of national security and immigration laws we have as a nation sunk to a new low. National security as a concept has always played a major role in the silencing of intellectuals and as a justification of reducing people’s liberties. As United States changes is political culture and as we (people living in the US) become nothing more than trusting lemmings that follow our government’s every recommendation and policy, we will come closer to becoming like the regimes that we have despised in the past. I do not want to live in a police state without any privacy, I want to live in a vibrant multi-cultural community that uses its brains rather than muscle to resolve its issues. How can we enforce our nation’s immigration laws, knowing full-well that a majority of those that break these laws are forced to do so by a combination of our inadequate immigration policies and our selfish foreign policy?
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2 Responses to “Big Law and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund Team Up Against ICE”
Hi All,
Your organization was mentioned in a Newsday Article. My daughters boyfriend of 6 years was rounded up by ICE in a frightening matter on September 24,2007, in Mineola, Nassau county, as he slept in his bed, terrorizing his entire family! Even though I am happy that there is a lawsuit to stop future raids, is anything going to be done to help these victims???
My daughters boyfriend is a permanant resident who made a stupid mistake a few years ago. He sold a small amount ($20.00) of cocaine to a “friend”- he was set up and pled guilty to an e felony. He was sentenced to 120 days in jail (Nassau County) He paid for this crime and learned his lesson!
Since that fateful day, Carlos has been a model citizen- truly turned his life around and was far away from any illegal activity. He worked hard during the day at a construction site and went to acting school at night and on the weekends in Manhattan. He always dreamed of being on the big screen! He landed a part in a play but never got to act out the role because he is sitting in a detention center in NJ waiting for deportation to Colombia. His entire life and family is here! Even his grandmother is buried here. Colombia is not a safe place to go. There is a lot of unrest there and he could get killed! And my white daughter will follow him there. Carlos’ Mom told me that she would literally not survive there! She is too American looking!
He is the head of his household where he lives with his disabled Mom and younger brother and sister. They will be homeless soon because they cannot pay the rent without him.
Carlos always told me that he was half Puerto Rican but he does not remember his father who was (I believe) killed in Colombia when he was a baby. I questioned Carlos’ Mom and she agreed that his father (I don’t think they ever married) was born in Puerto Rico but “How could I prove that”?
I could go on and on but you get the point. I am a NYC school teaher and am outraged at the treatment of latinos on Long Island. This never would have happened if he lived in Queens.
Do I have any recourse that you know of?
Thank you for reading!
Maura Francis
By Maura Francis on Oct 6, 2007
Dear Maura: I am sorry to hear about Carlos’ problem. To really help you to get some ideas, I need to know a bit more information. I can tell you that the fact that Carlos’ father was Puerto Rican probably would not help Carlos. What is the legal status of Carlos mother in the United States? What about his siblings? What about Carlos? Carlos may be eligible for a waiver from deportation but to really be able to help him you should try to find an immigration attorney that specializes in deportation and asylum cases. Although I would love to help more, I specialize in business immigration law so I am not too familiar with deportation and asylum cases. Check out this website to find an attorney in your area who may be able to help you — http://www.ailalawyer.com/. Aila is a professional association of immigration attorneys. Good luck.
By admin on Oct 7, 2007