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07-24-2014, 03:03 PM #1
Deval Patrick's time warp: Immigration court backlog may lengthen illegals stay
Thursday, July 24, 2014
193 Comments
By:Bob McGover
bostonherald.com
HOT SEAT: Under fire for his plan to house illegal immigrant kids, Gov. Deval Patrick, shown above at the Governor’s Statewide Youth Council Reunion yesterday, says the children will be held in Massachusetts for only four months. At left, illegal immigrants are detained in Texas.
A log-jammed immigration court system already has cases backed up to 2017, legal experts say, even as Gov. Deval Patrick is insisting 1,000 unaccompanied illegal immigrant children will stay in Massachusetts for only four months — all amid reports indicating these minors are skipping their detention hearings and being approved to stay as refugees in large numbers.
It all adds up to a strong likelihood many of those kids won’t leave the Bay State any time soon, one advocate for immigration enforcement said.
“Someone whose asylum hearing isn’t until 2017 has plenty of time to get a job, graduate from high school and lay roots in the community. That gives lawyers an argument to keep the kids here for good,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. “Immigration attorneys are crying crocodile tears when they speak of delays. This delights them.”
Immigration lawyer Howard Silverman told the Herald there is “definitely a backlog” of cases in immigration court stemming from the recent increase in unaccompanied minors crossing the border. Officials expect the current 57,000 to jump to 90,000 by the fall.
Patrick said the feds have asked the Bay State to hold detained children for only four months — and the average stay for children would be 30-45 days — and they would “not be brought into the school system” or “into the neighborhoods.” He slammed his critics’ objections as “coarse and unhelpful.”
Meanwhile, as many as 46 percent of the thousands of children released from custody have not been showing up for their deportation hearings, according to the Dallas Morning News. The paper reported yesterday that 18 of 20 kids due in a Dallas immigration court one day this week didn’t show.
The House Judiciary Committee released a report last week showing that 65 percent of unaccompanied minors are “immediately” granted asylum by officers with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Silverman questioned the House Judiciary report, saying 65 percent “seems really high.”
Once asylum is granted, the children will have access to all major federal welfare programs, according to the committee. Under federal law, an immigrant granted asylum can get a job and submit an application to become a lawful permanent resident.
All unaccompanied minors are entitled to apply for an asylum hearing — regardless of whether they are in custody — according to Stacy Jones, a senior staff attorney at U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.
State Rep. Bradley H. Jones, the House Republican minority leader, is slated to meet today to discuss the state’s involvement in housing immigrant detainees with state and federal officials, as well as law enforcement officials — several of whom have voiced concerns regarding the arrangement.
Yesterday, the House sent to a legislative committee a non-binding resolution calling for the state to reject any request from President Obama to take in any of the unaccompanied minors.
“This resolution is to question Massachusetts’ role in an immigration crisis ... and politely say, ‘No thank you,’ ” said Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton).
Bourne town officials objected to children being housed at Camp Edwards, one of the two military bases under consideration. Patrick also has offered Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee as a possible secure facility.
“What exactly is the federal government asking?” said Rep. Vinny deMacedo, a Plymouth Republican and immigrant who was born on Cape Verde. “What is the time limit?”
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