Mr. ZP was first placed in immigration custody in January 2008.  For over a year, Mr. ZP was unable to proceed with his immigration case because of a language barrier and lack of access to legal counsel.  A former resident of Fujian province in southeast China, Mr. ZP speaks Fuzhou as his first language.  When Mr. ZP first appeared in immigration court, the court’s Mandarin speaking interpreters were unable to communicate with him.  This led the court to conclude that he could not speak Mandarin and only spoke Fuzhou.  CAIR Coalition’s efforts to place the case with a pro bono attorney were hampered by the lack of available Fuzhou interpreters who could assist legal counsel in communicating with Mr. ZP.   Finally, not wanting Mr. ZP’s case to be on hold any longer, the CAIR Coalition decided to try again with a Mandarin speaking interpreter.  CAIR Coalition was fortunate to have a Mandarin speaking law clerk who accompanied CAIR Coalition staff to Hampton Roads Regional Jail where she spoke with Mr. ZP.  Perhaps because she was a bit more patient than the court interpreter’s had been, she was able to understand Mr. ZP and could translate for CAIR Coalition staff.  At that point, Mr. ZP’s case was back on track and he could proceed to apply for relief from removal.

Because Mr. ZP’s case had already been pending for so long, CAIR Coalition decided to take the case in-house rather than to continue trying to place it with a pro bono attorney.  Bernardo Rodriguez, a CAIR Coalition staff attorney, represented Mr. ZP.  Mr. Rodriguez faced numerous challenges in securing relief for Mr. ZP, who was eligible to adjust his status to legal permanent residence with the aid of a refugee waiver.  These included finding a civil surgeon, a doctor with a special certification from the United States government, who was willing to travel to Hampton Roads Regional Jail to perform the medical examination required for legal permanent residence, as well as assisting Mr. ZP to secure the funds needed to pay for the examination and recruiting Mr. ZP’s family to actively assist with his case.  Mr. Rodriguez also faced several rescheduled hearings that further prolonged Mr. ZP’s time in detention. Finally, on January 25, 2010, after spending over two years in immigration detention, the court granted Mr. ZP legal permanent residence.  He is now a free man and has joined his family in New York City to begin rebuilding his life.

Without the intervention of concerned individuals and legal counsel, Mr. ZP most likely would have continued to languish in detention and would have eventually been ordered deported to China, where his life would have been in danger. For Bernardo, representing Mr. ZP was an eye-opening experience and a case that represented some of the lesser known ways in which the immigration system can fail even those who have a strong and legally straightforward defense to deportation.

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Recently, the United States signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and celebrated the 19^th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. These two actions mark our nation’s commitment to provide reasonable accommodations to and ensure basic fairness for all people with disabilities. Unfortunately, this commitment falters in our nation’s immigration courts, where people with mental disabilities are not afforded such accommodations and fairness.

CAIR Coalition is one of 77 signatories to a letter calling on the Attorney General to honor this commitment to reasonable accommodations and basic fairness for people with mental disabilities in our nation’s immigration courts.  The letter, which was signed by a diverse group of community organizations and individuals committed to protecting the rights of people with mental disabilities, prioritizes four recommendations that would represent significant progress toward this goal and would save the United States Government significant resources by increasing efficiency in the immigration court.  These include:

1. Appointing counsel to indigent people with mental disabilities who do not have legal representation.
2. Appointing guardians ad litem to people who are found mentally incompetent.
3. Enacting regulations that standardize procedures for adjudicating competency in immigration court and that give immigration judges the authority to provide reasonable accommodations to protect the rights of people with mental disabilities, including the power to administratively close cases or terminate proceedings where appropriate.
4. Providing training to immigration judges on recognizing mental disabilities and on taking appropriate actions to protect the due process rights of people with mental disabilities.

These recommendations are well-established in civil and criminal courts throughout this country and have ensured basic fairness and cost savings in those settings.

A recent New York Times article highlights the plight of  Xiu Ping Jiang, a young woman from China, who despite having no criminal record and a history of attempted suicide, was locked away for a year and a half in an immigration jail in Florida leading to a drastic deterioration in her mental health.  Twice ordered deported by two different judges while showing clear signs of mental illness, her deportation case was re-opened by the second judge only after the New York Times initially wrote about the case in May of this year.   In addition to violating Ms. Jiang’s basic due process rights, her incarceration by the Department of Homeland Security cost the United States government hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Unfortunately, Ms. Jiang’s case is typical of the way individuals suffering from mental illness are afforded virtually no protections in the current immigration system.  Denied appropriate mental health treatment and access to legal counsel, many can languish for months in immigration detention further exacerbating their mental health problems.

According to Liz McGrail, CAIR Coalition’s Legal Director, “We are seeing a big uptick in the number of detainees with mental illness who are stuck there because the immigration courts don’t seem to know that to do with them.”

Now, CAIR Coalition and the other signatories of the letter to the attorney general have provided the government with a detailed set of recommendations to insure that immigrants suffering from mental illness are treated in a manner that comports with fundamental fairness and basic human decency.  CAIR Coalition calls upon the attorney general to give serious consideration to these recommendations and to begin implementing the policies and procedures necessary to insure that the rights of individuals with mental disabilities are safeguarded in our nation’s immigration court system, just as they are in our criminal and civil court systems.

Click here to read a copy of the letter to the Attorney General.

Mr. AR admitted that his drug use was a mistake and he deeply regretted his lack of good judgment.  However, with Ms. Manzano-Guillen’s help he was able to demonstrate to the immigration court that his positive contributions to his family and community outweighed his mistakes.  A number of his family members and friends came to court to testify on his behalf or provided affidavits in support of his application for cancellation of removal.  Mr. AR and his family very much appreciate all the time and energy Ms. Manzano-Guillen devoted to his case.  According to Ms. Manzano-Guillen, “the opportunity to take this case has been an excellent way to give back to the community and make a difference protecting the legal rights of a fellow immigrant while gaining invaluable professional experience. I am very grateful to CAIR Coalition for the excellent mentoring and invaluable coaching that they provided me. It was highly rewarding to work with such committed professionals, and I look forward to continue working with them.”

Tickets for this event cost $20 and can be purchased at the door.  Additional donations are also appreciated. You may RSVP on our Facebook page, or by emailing Davina Abujudeh at dabujudeh@caircoalition.org. If you cannot make it to the event but would still like to support CAIR Coalition’s work, please make an online donation at www.caircoalition.org/donate or mail a check to: CAIR Coalition, 1612 K Street NW, Suite 204, Washington, DC 20006.

Brad’s client, ME, was born in Pakistan after his mother fled Iraq. The family subsequently moved to Iran where ME lived until he was eight years old. The family then migrated to the United States as Legal Permanent Residents. ME was raised and schooled in northern Virginia and hadn’t left the country since immigrating.

During his youth, ME and his mother were victims of domestic abuse by his father. ME frequently witnessed physical assaults on his mother by his father, attacks which caused severe mental and emotional trauma to him. In one instance, when ME was only three years old, he witnessed an assault on his mother and did not eat or drink anything for three days afterward. This abuse caused ME to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression.

ME eventually began to receive therapy and medication for his mental health problems, but the prolonged abuse made it difficult for him to say “No” to people and impacted his ability to make good decisions. At the age of 17, he was convicted of a theft offense leading to efforts by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to deport him.

ME came to the attention of CAIR Coalition during one of our routine jail visits. Brad took on his case, arguing that ME risked arrest and torture if he was deported to either Iraq or Pakistan. During the trial, a psychologist provided expert testimony on the severity of ME’s emotional problems and the limits of his cognitive functioning, explaining that although ME’s chronological age is 19, he has the abstract reasoning ability of a 10 year old.

Despite the fact that ME has never been to Iraq, knows nothing of the culture and speaks only a few words of Arabic, the DHS argued that he should be deported there, due to his mother’s Iraqi nationality. In the alternative, DHS argued that he should be deported to Pakistan, where he has no family, no support and does not speak the language or know the culture.

Brad argued that in both of these countries, ME would be at risk of being arrested and tortured because of his emotional problems, his limited cognitive functioning, his inability to speak the language and his lack of familiarity with the culture. In addition, the psychologist testified that without the support system so badly needed by someone with ME’s mental and emotional problems, his mental state would deteriorate further, putting him at even great risk of arrest and torture by Iraqi or Pakistani authorities.

In a written decision issued after the trial, the Immigration Court found that ME had established that it was more likely than not that he would be detained and tortured should be deported to either Pakistan or Iraq. Thanks to Brad’s efforts, ME will be allowed to remain in the United States, close to his family and with access to the treatment he needs to continue healing from his traumatic past.

In 2008, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) detained nearly 400,000 immigrants. Less than half of all immigrants in removal proceedings have legal representation. While individuals have a right to counsel in immigration cases, the government has no obligation to provide counsel (unlike criminal cases). Not surprisingly, legal representation makes an enormous difference in outcome: immigrants represented by counsel are 50% more likely to avoid deportation.

The inherent complexity of the immigration legal process and stress of detention presents problems to all detained immigrants, but especially to those with mental health issues. Statistics are incomplete regarding the number of immigrants who suffer from mental illness, but anecdotal evidence suggests that detained immigrants face widespread mental health issues.

Many attorneys providing representation do so on a pro bono basis without any immigration law experience. This manual will provide a practical overview of the immigration detention and removal processes and the specific challenges facing detained immigrants with mental health issues. Chapters include: Obtaining Medical Consent, Records and Treatment; Litigation Strategies for Mentally Incompetent Client; Legal Relief; Creating the Record to Win the Claim, and Post-Adjudication Issues. The manual also has an extensive appendix that includes a wealth of sample forms, motions and other resources to assist both novice and experienced practitioner alike.

Click here to download a copy of the manual.

]]> http://www.caircoalition.org/2009/04/27/cair-coalition-and-cooley-godward-kronish-join-forces-on-practice-manual-for-attorneys-representing-detained-immigrants-with-mental-health-issues/feed/ 0 http://www.caircoalition.org/2009/04/27/431/ http://www.caircoalition.org/2009/04/27/431/#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:22:10 +0000 CAIR Coalition Staff http://www.cair.dreamhosters.com/?p=431 CAIR Coalition has joined the national campaign to Reform Immigration for America. In the last six months hundreds of faith, labor, community and business organizations have been working together locally, regionally and nationally to organize a campaign to win comprehensive immigration reform.

As the Administration and Congress prepares to begin debating immigration reform, the campaign urges that the following principals guide our policymakers:

Immigration Reform Must Promote Economic Opportunity

Immigration Reform Must be Comprehensive

Long-term Reform Requires Long Term Solutions

Click here for more information about the campaign.