RI Immigration Attorney Alves posts the following article concerning the Houston immigration court and the clearing of its dockets. The immigration cases being thrown out are related to matters that do not involve criminal activity or are not pressing in terms of public safety. The courts claim it is an effort to whittle down their docket which reaches into 2012, however, supporters of the new laws claim it is an attempt to by-pass certain aspects at an attempt to support the Obama administrations amnesty actions.
Immigration Courts Tossing Out Record-High Number of Cases
By Elise Foley
10/18/10
Houston immigration judges are throwing out an unprecedented number of cases after an internal review of the city’s immigration court docket, the Houston Chronicle reported yesterday. That means many non-criminal illegal immigrants are more likely to be released: About 200 immigration cases have been dismissed per month since the review began, up from an average of 38 per month. The policy change, which ICE officials have avoided discussing, seems to be an attempt to deal with large backlogs in the immigration courts, which are already scheduling hearings into 2012.
Why are some cases dismissed? The answers differ: Although ICE claims only cases involving pending petitions for illegal immigrants by U.S. citizens would be considered, others claim the guidelines are more broad. Raed Gonzalez, liaison for the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told the Chronicle judges were given authority to dismiss immigration cases for a number of other reasons:
Government attorneys in Houston were instructed to exercise prosecutorial discretion on a case-by-case basis for illegal immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for at least two years and have no serious criminal history, Gonzalez said.
To qualify for dismissal, defendants also must have no felony record or any misdemeanor convictions involving DWI, sex crimes or domestic violence, he said. [...]
By moving to dismiss cases for people who have stayed out of trouble, the agency will be better able to use its limited resources to more rapidly deport those with serious criminal records, supporters said.
On the other side, though, supporters of tougher immigration enforcement have claimed the review is an effort at backdoor amnesty by the Obama administration. It’s an argument many anti-illegal immigration groups have made before, but it is worth noting that despite dismissals, deportation is still on the rise under the administration.
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If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Divorce, Immigration, or Estate Law in RI or MA contact Massachusetts and Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer Rui P. Alves at 401-942-3100 or CONTACT him via email.
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