The National Immigrant Justice Center's experienced legal staff can speak about the legal ramifications of immigration laws, provide analysis of how immigration policies play out in immigrant communities, and help put reporters in touch with immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers who can provide a human face to stories about the U.S. immigration system.
NIJC Press contact:
Tara Tidwell Cullen
General Immigration Effective Immigration Reform Must Go Beyond Creating New Deportation Programs | Effective Immigration Reform Must Go Beyond Creating New Deportation Programs |
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| Monday, 04 August 2008 | |
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Immigrants Should Seek Legal Advice Before Reporting for "Self-Deportation" As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rolls out a new program that encourages immigrants to turn themselves in for deportation, Heartland Alliance's National Immigrant Justice Center strongly encourages anyone considering the "self-deportation" option to first consult a qualified immigration lawyer.
The National Immigrant Justice Center also calls on Congress to take responsibility for restoring fairness and humanity to our immigration system, a task that cannot be accomplished through heightened deportation efforts alone.
"If our government is serious about fixing our country's broken immigration system, it must move beyond its single-minded focus on creating new deportation policies," said National Immigrant Justice Center Director Mary Meg McCarthy. "By creating new programs like Operation Scheduled Departure, ICE does nothing more than separate families, harm communities, erode due process, and in the worst cases, subject men, women, and children to danger in their native countries."
According to ICE, a new program called "Operation Scheduled Departure" targets immigrants who have a final order of removal and no criminal history. It remains unclear as to how the program will treat individuals who report to ICE but do not fit this criteria.
The complexity of U.S. immigration law may leave many immigrants vulnerable to misunderstanding their legal status and accepting deportation prematurely through the Scheduled Departure Program. "A final order of removal does not always mean that an individual has run out of options to stay in the United States lawfully," said National Immigrant Justice Center Director Mary Meg McCarthy. In certain circumstances, immigrants, asylum seekers, and victims of certain crimes who have received final orders of removal may be eligible to reopen or seek further review of their cases. All immigrants in the United States who face deportation have the right to speak to a lawyer and may have a right to a day in court before they are deported. The National Immigrant Justice Center urges immigrants who are considering participating in Operation Scheduled Departure to contact an immigration lawyer before reporting to ICE.
Resources: Operation Scheduled Departure Fact Sheet for Immigrants: English / Español
Free or low-cost immigration legal services are available throughout the country and can be found online at http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/probono/states.htm. Heartland Alliance's National Immigrant Justice Center provides low-cost immigration legal aid in the Chicago area. For more information about our services, location, and consultation schedule visit http://www.immigrantjustice.org/client/programs/. Read ICE's press release and fact sheet about Operation Scheduled Departure. The National Immigrant Justice Center, a partner of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights, provides direct legal services to and advocates for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers through policy reform, impact litigation, and public education. |
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