by Daniel Nardini
In a major lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a U.S. federal judge has ruled that mentally impaired immigrants, whether legally here or undocumented, should have had legal representation at immigration hearings on their cases. Federal judge Dolly M. Gee ruled that U.S. immigration had no right to deny legal representation to mentally impaired immigrants at immigration court hearings. Because of this, an estimated 900 mentally impaired immigrants were forced to defend themselves and hence their cases were jeopardized for lack of legal representation. Hundreds of these immigrants were deported while hundreds face deportation. Those deported or in the process of deportation primarily lived in California, Arizona and Washington states.
Those mentally impaired immigrants, who were forced to represent themselves in immigration courts, should have been allowed legal representation so that lawyers could defend them since these mentally impaired people were not capable of doing so. What U.S. immigration did was a violation of their most important rights, and therefore they should either not have been deported or should not be in the process of being deported. I am now trying to figure out how the U.S. government will be able to reach those immigrants long since deported to be able to return to the United States to have their cases retried? In my view, it would be better if the U.S. government simply gave them permanent residency for all the trouble the U.S. government caused them.
The only good thing about this legal victory I see is that any present and future mentally impaired immigrants will now have the legal representation they need. This way their rights will be fully respected and it could help their case receive a fair hearing than they would otherwise. Immigration courts can be daunting to even the most competent people, never mind to someone who is mentally impaired. There are those anti-immigrant activists who claim that “illegals” have “too many rights.” In my view, they do not have anywhere near enough. At least this is one more piece of a safety net they desperately need.
Legal Victory for Mentally Impaired Immigrants
by Daniel Nardini
In a major lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a U.S. federal judge has ruled that mentally impaired immigrants, whether legally here or undocumented, should have had legal representation at immigration hearings on their cases. Federal judge Dolly M. Gee ruled that U.S. immigration had no right to deny legal representation to mentally impaired immigrants at immigration court hearings. Because of this, an estimated 900 mentally impaired immigrants were forced to defend themselves and hence their cases were jeopardized for lack of legal representation. Hundreds of these immigrants were deported while hundreds face deportation. Those deported or in the process of deportation primarily lived in California, Arizona and Washington states.
Those mentally impaired immigrants, who were forced to represent themselves in immigration courts, should have been allowed legal representation so that lawyers could defend them since these mentally impaired people were not capable of doing so. What U.S. immigration did was a violation of their most important rights, and therefore they should either not have been deported or should not be in the process of being deported. I am now trying to figure out how the U.S. government will be able to reach those immigrants long since deported to be able to return to the United States to have their cases retried? In my view, it would be better if the U.S. government simply gave them permanent residency for all the trouble the U.S. government caused them.
The only good thing about this legal victory I see is that any present and future mentally impaired immigrants will now have the legal representation they need. This way their rights will be fully respected and it could help their case receive a fair hearing than they would otherwise. Immigration courts can be daunting to even the most competent people, never mind to someone who is mentally impaired. There are those anti-immigrant activists who claim that “illegals” have “too many rights.” In my view, they do not have anywhere near enough. At least this is one more piece of a safety net they desperately need.