Mr. B has played an active leadership role for the Teachers’ Association, a significant advocacy group in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  In January 2008, the group initiated talks with the DRC government over issues such as better pay and living conditions for teachers.  According to Mr. B, the government was not responsive to the group’s concerns and several months later the Teachers’ Association’s escalated its advocacy efforts by organizing a protest march.  The march was held in August 2008 and provoked a violent response from the government.  As the government sought to disperse the crowds by force, several officials focused on Mr. B and tried to arrest him.  One of the officials struck Mr. B in the mouth with a gun and knocked out one of his teeth.  Notwithstanding the force used, Mr. B was able to escape arrest that day.

Mr. B remained for months until he was able to escape the country.  His friends told him that the soldiers were looking for him and even distributing pictures of him.  The soldiers went so far as to torture and kill two of his sisters in the efforts to find him.

With the help of a friend, Mr. B was able to obtain a Canadian passport.  He then flew to South Africa, where he stayed for six months.  He was detained at Dulles in transit to Canada to join his friend.

The USCIS Asylum office has already conducted an interview of Mr. B and has found him to be credible.  The office has issued a determination that Mr. B has a credible fear of being persecuted if returned to the DRC.

This pro bono opportunity entails assisting Mr. B in applying for asylum, withholding of removal and/or protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) before the Immigration Court in Arlington, Virginia.  Mr. B is currently detained in  Hampton Roads Regional Jail, which is located in Portsmouth, Virginia, and is approximately 3.5 hours away by car.   CAIR Coalition is available to assist in visiting the client at the jail and to arrange televideo conferences between our DC office and the facility.  Mr. B speaks Lingala and is proficient in French.

Contact: Liz McGrail, liz.mcgrail@caircoalition.org; 202-331-3320, ex. 20

Ms. MR, who last entered the United States in 2006, is a Guatemalan national.  She will be persecuted and tortured in Guatemala because of her sexual orientation and gender identity.  Born physiologically a male, Ms. MR is homosexual and identifies herself as a woman.  Ms. MR has been raped and psychologically abused by her much older cousin and physically abused and beaten by her older brother.  Although she alerted Guatemalan authorities that she was being raped on a regular basis, the police refused to believe her because she was a young child. She avoided going out in public in Guatemala for fear of being abducted, castrated, and killed because of her sexual orientation.  She fled Guatemala to escape her brother, cousin, and the persecution of homosexuals.  Realizing that the United States is more tolerant than Guatemala, Ms. MR began to realize herself as a woman in this country.

The USCIS Asylum office has already conducted an interview of Ms. MR and has found her to be credible.  The office has issued a determination that Ms. MR has a reasonable fear of being persecuted and tortured if returned to Guatemala.

Ms. MR has a conviction in Virginia related to prostitution.  This offense is not particularly serious and would not preclude her from applying for Asylum, Withholding of Removal and/or protection under the Convention Against Torture. (However, depending on the facts in her case, she may not be eligible for asylum because of the requirement that individuals apply within one year of arriving in the United States barring a chance in circumstances.)

Ms. MR is not detained and is under an order of supervision granted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  She is currently residing in Herndon, VA.

Ms. MR speaks Spanish.  Although she has a Master Calendar hearing scheduled at Immigration Court in New York, NY for August 18th, CAIR Coalition has filed a Motion to Change Venue to Arlington, VA as venue was erroneously changed by the court to New York, NY.  Merits hearings on the non-detained docket in Arlington are currently being scheduled approximately one year in advance.  Therefore, we estimate that this case will go to trial in the summer of 2011.

Please contact:

Bernardo Rodriguez

Staff Attorney

(202) 331-3320, ext. 16

bernardo.rodriguez@caircoalition.org

Mr. MG, a Peruvian national, fears he will be tortured and killed by Peruvian government officials because of his attempt to expose fraud at a television  show.

Mr. MG’s plight began when he agreed to participate in a segment of the  television show.   Specifically, he had agreed to appear on the show and pretend to be interested in his brother’s girlfriend.  In exchange for this pretense, the show had promised to provide him with several gifts including a sandwich cart, scholarship money and medical care for his mother.  After his appearance on the show, however, the staff of the show failed to deliver the promised gifts.  Mr. MG and several other former participants who had been similarly duped, threatened to expose the television show as a fraud.   In response, individuals connected with the show sent police to intimidate Mr. MG.  Police shot Mr. MG and killed one of his friends.  In a later incident, police stabbed Mr. MG.

The USCIS Asylum office has already conducted an interview of Mr. MG and has found him to be credible.  The office has issued a determination that Mr. MG has a reasonable fear of being tortured if returned to Peru.

Mr. MG has two petty theft convictions and a fourth degree burglary conviction in Maryland, as well as a trespass conviction.  None of these offenses are particularly serious and none would preclude him from applying for protection under CAT.

Mr. MG is currently in Immigration custody at Rappahannock Regional Jail in Stafford, VA – approximately one hour drive from Washington, DC.  He is not eligible for bond because of his convictions and therefore, will remain in detention throughout his immigration court proceedings.

Mr. MG speaks Spanish and English.  Although he has a Master Calendar hearing scheduled at the Arlington, VA Immigration Court for July 1^st, CAIR Coalition can seek a continuance to provide the pro bono attorney with more time to meet with the client and prepare for pleadings.  Merits hearings are currently being scheduled in Arlington for November/December.  Therefore, we estimate that this case will go to trial by early January 2011.

Please contact:

Bernardo Rodriguez

Staff Attorney

(202) 331-3320, ext. 16

bernardo.rodriguez@caircoalition.org

Mr. MA faces potential removal from the United States because of his criminal convictions: three convictions for DUI and three counts of credit card fraud. Mr. MA is eligible to apply for Cancellation of Removal for Certain Permanent Residents.  Mr. MA is eligible for this form of relief if (1) he has been continuously resident in any status for seven years prior to the person’s first offense that renders him inadmissible or deportable; (2) he has been a permanent resident for at least five years; (3) he has not been convicted of an aggravated felony; and (4) he merits a favorable exercise of discretion.

Mr. MA has a strong case that the positive factors in his life outweigh the negative impact of his criminal convictions.  In addition to his immediate family, Mr. MA’s ties to the United States include several brothers who are permanent residents.  He has attended an alcohol program after his DUI convictions, which he successfully completed.  He has lived in the United States for sixteen years and has held a steady job in siding.

This opportunity may also require that the pro bono attorney litigate whether Mr. MA’s convictions for DUI “stop his time” for the purpose of the seven year residence requirement.  CAIR Coalition attorneys are available to mentor the pro bono attorney on this and any other issue.

This pro bono opportunity will require representing Mr. MA before Immigration Judge Bryant at the Arlington Immigration Court.  He has already submitted his application for relief, and his case has been set down for a hearing on the merits on November 3, 2010.  Hampton Roads Regional Jail is approximately 3.5 hours from Washington, DC by car.  CAIR Coalition now has a Video-Teleconferencing System which allows attorneys to communicate with detained clients via televideo from our office in DC.  CAIR Coalition is also available to assist in visiting the client at the jail.  Mr. MA speaks Spanish and is proficient in English.

Contact Liz McGrail, 202-331-3320, ex. 20 or liz.mcgrail@caircoalition.org

He has lived in the US for almost 25 years and has a US citizen child for whom he has regularly made child support payments. Prior to detention he attended the Seven Day Adventist Church where his pastor and church members would be willing to provide affidavits in his support.  He indicated that family and community members would also write affidavits in support of his good character.

Mr. EM faces potential removal from the United States because of three criminal convictions: one charge of assault and battery on a family member with a sentence of 6 months, one charge of peeping into an occupied dwelling with a sentence of 12 months and one charge of mail theft for which he received less than one year time served.

First, CAIR Coalition believes that Mr. EM may be eligible to terminate his removal proceedings.  This would require arguing that Mr. EM’s convictions for (1) assault and battery and (2) peeping into an occupied dwelling are not crimes involving moral turpitude.  The Board of Immigration Appeals has specifically ruled that the conduct prohibited by the Virginia statute for assault and battery on a family member is not categorically a crime involving moral turpitude.  Therefore DHS must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the incident involved “intentional infliction of serious bodily injury on another.” The conduct prohibited by the Virginia statute for peeping into an occupied dwelling has no sexual component but is often miscategorized as a crime involving moral turpitude.  Should it be found that both convictions are not crimes involving moral turpitude, Mr. EM would not be removable.

Alternatively, Mr. EM appears eligible for relief from removal through Cancellation of Removal.  To be eligible for Cancellation of Removal, Mr. EM must show that he has been a lawful permanent resident for 5 years, he has had 7 years of continuous physical presence in the US and he has not been convicted of an aggravated felony.  Mr. EM appears to meet these requirements.

To be successful in obtaining Cancellation relief, Mr. EM must demonstrate that his equities outweigh the adverse factors of his criminal history.

This pro bono opportunity will require representing Mr. EM before Immigration Judge Bryant at the Arlington Immigration Court.  Hampton Roads Regional Jail is approximately 3.5 hours from Washington, DC by car.  CAIR Coalition now has a Video-Teleconferencing System which allows attorneys to communicate with detained clients via televideo from our office in DC.  CAIR Coalition is also available to assist in visiting the client at the jail and to ask for a continuance, if necessary. In addition, CAIR Coalition’s attorneys provide expert mentoring throughout the case. Mr. EM speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Contact Liz McGrail, 202-331-3320, ex. 20 or liz.mcgrail@caircoalition.org

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Texas Appleseed, a public-interest law firm dedicated to promoting greater justice for all Texans through research, advocacy and partnerships with volunteer attorneys and other professionals, has recently released a report chronicling the sub-standard care and lack of due process rights afforded to immigrants in the detention and removal process in Texas.  Although the report focuses on the treatment of immigrants in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities in Texas and in the federal immigration courts in Texas, the problems the report uncovers are mirrored in ICE detention facilities and immigration courts around the country.

Texas Appleseed partnered with the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to research and write “Justice for Immigration’s Hidden Population: Protecting the Rights of Persons with Mental Disabilities in the Immigration Court and Detention System.”   The 88-page report is based on interviews with more than 40 attorneys and mental health processionals who work with immigrants with mental disabilities.  (Mental disabilities include both mental illness as well as developmental disabilities.)  In addition, the team working on the report also interviewed immigration court judges and observed immigration hearings.  Attorneys from Texas Appleseed and Akin Gump also visited two detention centers in Texas and spoke with immigrant suffering from mental disabilities.

CAIR Coalition’s Legal Director, Liz McGrail, served on the national Advisory Committee that provided Appleseed that provided input and guidance at various stages during the research and writing of the report.

Despite recent reform efforts, the U.S. immigration system remains plagued with deficiencies that include the overuse of detention and a lack of basic medical care for immigrants suffering from mental and physical disabilities.  Nowhere are the deficiencies of the current system more evident than in the plight of immigrants who suffer from mental disabilities.

The Texas Appleseed report reveals numerous examples of poor or non-existent health care for immigrants with severe mental health problems held in ICE detention, arbitrary transfers of mentally-ill detainees far from family and mental health resources, and lack of due process of immigrants with mental disabilities in an immigration court system that affords them no right to counsel. The report also chronicles the lack of a functional record keeping system which often places critical health care information out of reach of both detained immigrants as well as their attorneys.  Finally, the report details how ICE’s lack of care and concern for immigrants with mental disabilities often extends to their release from detention or removal from the United States.  Many immigrants with mental disabilities are released from detention or deported without notification to family members, an adequate supply of medication or any provisions for their safe return home.

The report’s many case studies remind us that there are real human beings suffering on a daily basis as a result of ICE’s failure to provide even minimally adequate care to an extremely vulnerable group of people.  People like the physically disabled woman with mental illness who was left naked on the floor in solitary confinement for several days, bleeding from her menstrual period.  Or like the woman who was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and severe depression prior to her detention, who received no mental health care during her 18 month detention, and instead was ridiculed by guards who accused her of faking her illness.

Texas Appleseed makes clear that ICE and the immigration court system can, and must, do better.  To that end, the report includes six core recommendations in the report for improving the system.  They include:

1.         Recognizing immigrants as a vulnerable population deserving special protections.

2.         Placing immigrants with mental disabilities in the least restrictive setting.

3.         Providing appropriate diagnosis and care in detention.

4.         Establishing a competent medical records system.

5.         Improving the chances of a fair outcome in court.

6.         Ensuring the safe release or removal of immigrants with mental disabilities.

Click here for a full copy of the report.

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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In response to the legal needs of unaccompanied immigrant children being detained in Virginia, CAIR Coalition has started the Detained Children’s Project in partnership with the Immigration Law Clinic at the University of Virginia School of Law.  The project will provide legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children being held at the Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center in Staunton, Virginia, including “Know Your Rights” presentations, individual intakes, and pro bono placements.  CAIR Coalition will also accompany the children to their initial immigration court hearings.  CAIR Coalition staff will visit the facility twice a month and will be joined by trained law students from the University of Virginia who will assist with intake.

Each year, thousands of children enter the United States without a parent or adult guardian.   Some are coming to the United States to be reunited with family members, but many others are fleeing gang violence, domestic abuse and other dangerous situations at home.  Some are the victims of human trafficking.   In addition to the hardships they have suffered at home, many children making their way to the United States on their own become victimized a second time during the extremely dangerous journey to the United States.

Any child under the age of 18 detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement is placed in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (part of the Department of Health and Human Services) which can house them in a variety of settings while their immigration court proceedings are pending, including secure juvenile facilities, group homes and foster care placements.   However, while the government will provide unaccompanied immigrant children with shelter, it will not provide them with attorneys.  As a result, almost half of all children who appear before an immigration judge do not have legal representation.  Although many of these children may be eligible for some type of relief that would permit them to remain in the United States, it is virtually impossible for an adult, much less a vulnerable child, to successfully navigate the immigration process without the assistance of an attorney.

Initial funding for the Detained Children’s Project is being provided by the Vera Institute of Justice, which supports a network of over a dozen non-profit organizations that provide legal assistance to detained immigrant children in Chicago, New York City, Washington, DC, Miami, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Virginia, Portland Oregon and four sites in Texas.

CAIR Coalition is excited about this new opportunity to insure that unaccompanied immigrant children being held at the Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center have access to the legal assistance they need to protect their rights.

I.P. was initially detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in July 2007 and held in a local Virginia jail.  Despite exhibiting signs of mental illness such as cutting himself and refusing to eat, I.P. was not given a formal mental health assessment.  Instead, was left to languish in solitary confinement for over a year while his mental health continued to worsen.

By the time ICE finally issued a Notice to Appear and placed him in immigration court proceedings, I.P.’s mental condition had deteriorated to the point of incompetency, vastly complicating efforts to ensure that his due process rights were protected during any court proceedings.

In November 2008, CAIR Coalition placed the case with Ms. Morgan and Mr. Saballos, students enrolled in the International Human Rights Law Clinic at American University’s Washington College of Law, working under the supervision of Practitioner in Residence, Meetali Jain.  Ms. Morgan and Mr. Saballos tried numerous strategies to try to help their client, starting with a request that he be transferred to a facility that could provide him with the mental health care that he needed.  They also petitioned the court for a competency hearing for their client and asked that a guardian ad litem be appointed. (In certain civil matters, a guardian ad litem may be appointed to assist counsel in determining the wishes of a mentally incompetent client.)

However, unlike judges presiding over criminal matters or other types of civil proceedings, immigration judges have no formal procedures for determining when an individual appearing before them is not competent, nor do they have any set procedures for safeguarding the due process rights of persons suffering from mental illness.  Each immigration court is different when it comes to dealing with individuals who are mentally ill, and this lack of uniform standards undermines the ability of counsel to competently represent their immigration clients.

Eventually, ICE agreed to transfer I.P to Columbia Care in South Carolina, a private mental health facility which contracts with ICE to provide mental health care to those detainees who are the most severely ill.  Once he started to receive appropriate treatment, I.P. improved significantly, and after a number of months he regained his competency.   In consultation with his attorneys and his family, I.P. decided that he wanted to return to Honduras where he had family members who were willing to help care for him.  In an unusual step, ICE not only agreed to voluntary departure (a better option for the client than a final order of deportation), they also paid for the cost of his transportation to Honduras.  In addition, the Department of Immigration Health Services communicated with officials in Honduras about I.P.’s need for medical care and provided him with a month’s supply of medication.  In September 2009, I.P. finally returned home to Honduras, ending a two year saga in immigration custody that had, for a time, cost him his sanity.

According to Ms. Morgan, “working on I.P.’s case opened my eyes to an entire immigrant population who become invisible in immigrant detention because of their mental illnesses. Because of the inaction of ICE and the jail, we had to work twice as hard to get I.P. the mental health treatment to which he was entitled. CAIR Coalition and our professor, Meetali Jain, were instrumental in our efforts. CAIR Coalition introduced us to other attorneys and advocates working on the issue of access to mental health treatment in immigration detention. I learned that being persistent with ICE and using other immigrant rights’ advocates as resources and allies are the most valuable things needed to be an immigration attorney. My experience representing I.P. and working with CAIR was invaluable. I believe that I am a better attorney because of it.”

Mr. Saballos was similarly impacted, both personally and professionally, by his work on I.P.’s case.  According to Mr. Saballos, “representing my client before the Immigration Court was, for me, the most rewarding experience I had in law school.  With the support of WCL’s International Human Rights Law Clinic and the CAIR Coalition, I was able to become intimately familiar with the challenges out-of-status immigrants face in the labyrinth that is our immigration system.  In addition to gaining first-hand knowledge in an area I hope one day to make my career, I also learned to practice the patience and empathy all client-service cases require.  As I.P. was mentally ill, severely so at the beginning of this matter, this case presented particular challenges that are unfortunately not uncommon.  Luckily, we were able to get him the treatment he so badly required.  I am grateful for this experience and I am confident that I am a more able and effective attorney because of my participation in this case.”

CAIR Coalition is very grateful to Ms. Morgan and Mr. Saballos for their willingness to take on such a challenging case and to American University and the International Human Rights Law Clinic for making this partnership possible.  Representing an immigrant detainee like I.P. who is suffering from severe mental illness requires an incredible amount of perseverance and creative lawyering on the part of counsel.  Ms. Morgan and Mr. Saballos did an outstanding job and the experience has helped both of them to become better lawyers.

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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.