Saturday, April 7, 2012

NYU law school report on New Jersey immigration burns ICE | Jersey City Immigration and Naturalization Attorney Blog

On behalf of Law Office of Raymond Lo posted in Immigration Detention on Tuesday, April 3, 2012

New Jersey officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are not pleased with a report released by the New York University School of Law. The report, put together by the law school's immigrant clinic, accuses ICE of the poor treatment of immigrants at Essex County detention facilities and calls for new methods to deal with detainees awaiting immigration court dates.

New Jersey Advocates for Immigrant Detainees collaborated with the NYU's immigrant clinic to compile the data featured in the study. An estimated 1,200 immigrants are in Essex County detention centers.

The "Immigration Incarceration" reform research is a 39-page report that alleges immigrants are underfed, medically ignored and locked in substandard conditions. The report says immigrants are improperly cared for in two Essex County detainee facilities, the county jail and independently-run Delaney Hall. The research accuses ICE of failing to meet its own housing and treatment standards for immigrants, a charge several officials deny.

The director of the Essex County jail says the report was designed to "discredit" the county's agreement with ICE to house immigrant detainees. Delaney Hall authorities countered the NYU report accusations with a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that describes the facility's efforts to improve conditions as "humane."

Rather than make any verbal statements, ICE officials chose to release a statement that listed what U.S. immigration officials have done to improve conditions at immigrant holding centers since 2009. ICE claims it hired dozens of new Detention Services Managers in the last three years and increased the number of regular and spot inspections at detention facilities.

The NYU report suggests that U.S. immigration enforcement officials consider detention alternatives, especially for immigrants who have never before been in trouble with the law. The study's authors recommend using bond and supervised release as detention facility alternatives, not just to ensure improved immigrant treatment, but as a way to help the government save money.

Source: nj.com, "NYU immigration report details disturbing allegations of Essex County detainee treatment," Jason Grant, March 23, 2012

Tags: ICE, immigration court, outside evaluations

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Indonesian Immigrants Inspire Pastor, Congresswoman To Fight To Protect Them From Deportation

elise@huffingtonpost.com

Indonesian Immigrants Inspire Pastor, Congresswoman To Fight To Protect Them From Deportation

Posted: 04/ 6/2012 7:18 pm

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Three men who fled persecution in their native Indonesia are now living in a New Jersey church to avoid deportation, as its pastor and members of Congress push for a bill to help Indonesian refugees apply for asylum in the United States.

Reformed Church of Highland Park Pastor Seth Kaper-Dale said on Friday he will continue to welcome undocumented Indonesian immigrants into his church, but he and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) are hoping the church will not need to.

Maloney and Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, are sponsoring a bill to help Indonesian immigrants, like the three living in the church, who come to the U.S. to escape persecution because of their Christian faith. The bill would allow them to apply for asylum in the U.S. despite missing a deadline to do so. It would apply only to a specific group and would not necessarily allow them to stay in the U.S. indefinitely.

The bill is about protecting religious freedom, said Maloney, who visited the immigrants Friday. "They fled violence, they fled the burning and the raids of their religious sanctuaries. I think it's just the fair and just thing to allow them their day in court."

Although there is no law against immigration enforcement entering the church, there are informal policies against it, Kaper-Dale said. ICE officials are allowed to enter churches, but typically do not for enforcement purposes.

The bill has not yet seen much action, Maloney said, however she hopes that bringing more attention to the issue will encourage members of Congress to sign on. There are more than a dozen co-sponsors so far.

There is no reason the bill should not gain bipartisan support, given its limited scope and the people it would help, Kaper-Dale said. "This is the kind of thing that even in a divided Congress should go forward," he said.

Kaper-Dale welcomed the first immigrant, 44-year-old Saul Timisela, to the church in early March and the second, 45-year-old Rovani Wangko,at the end of the month. The third arrived early Tuesday morning. Two of the men now living in the church should already have been deported -- one's deportation was scheduled for 37 days ago, and the other, about two weeks ago. One's date is still approaching.

All three of the men entered the country legally, but due to confusion over the law, did not apply for asylum within the required one-year period. They came forward under a government initiative that would allow them to register in the U.S. without status, but that later led to their deportation orders, Kaper-Dale said. Their involvement in an "Orders of Supervision" program he spearheaded did not help them gain official refugee status, he said.

Because the men have families and clean criminal records, as well as strong ties in the community, Kaper-Dale said he believes they should be given prosecutorial discretion under an Obama administration policy announced in August 2011. Under that policy, the administration reviews some deportation cases and allows some immigrants considered low-priority to stay.

"We hope and pray that (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) might see just how much this community of people is loved and just how much they belong here and we won't have to take anybody else in," he said. "But we'll continue to let people in if we have to."

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