Should Family Factor In Immigration Deportation?

(AP) Minneapolis As immigration authorities get caught up on a backlog of deportation cases, immigrant advocates say the personal situations and community ties of those here illegally should be considered in an attempt to avoid splitting up families.

In Minnesota, the recent arrests of two mothers of young children sparked public protests and pleas for clemency.

"I don't understand it," said Nixon Avendano, of St. Michael, whose wife, Sara Munoz Gonzalez, was deported last month. "Why deport a mother of five kids who has never been in trouble with the law? She's worked. Paid taxes. They (immigration agents) should be focusing on terrorism."

Others say the law should be followed and those who are here illegally need to accept responsibility.

"Immigration law is quite explicit over who is to be deported, namely illegal aliens," said John Keeley, a spokesman for the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank. "They should be deported swiftly and humanely, regardless of their contribution to society. The mood of the public is not to split hairs."

The issue gained attention as Immigration and Customs Enforcement said that, for the first time, it has gotten caught up on its backlog of deportation orders. After years of climbing, the backlog leveled off then dropped by 500, ICE announced last month. But 632,200 immigrants are still on the list.

ICE also is arresting more immigrants with criminal convictions. The numbers jumped from 73,700 in 2002 to 89,000 in 2006, according to ICE statistics.

In recent years, about 3,000 immigrants have been deported annually from the Bloomington regional office of ICE, said agency spokesman Tim Counts. But many immigrants are sent to other regions, so the actual number of deportations is higher, he said.

Counts said it's not the law splitting up families, but rather "poor decisions by parents."

A report last week by Human Rights Watch estimated 1.6 million children and spouses have been separated in the past decade due to deportations based on criminal convictions alone. A 1996 immigration law expanded the number of crimes that resulted in mandatory deportation, adding offenses such as two counts of shoplifting, forged check and receiving stolen goods, the report said.

And it prevented those arrested from getting a hearing before an immigration judge, who could weigh the individual's contribution to society when deciding deportation. The group calls for a return to that policy.

The plight of families came to the forefront after raids at the Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in Minnesota and five other states last year. ICE released detainees from custody if they were sole caregivers.

But the agency's get-tough policy has a mandate from Congress, which nearly doubled ICE's funds for detention and removal of illegal immigrants, according to an analysis by the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

In Gonzalez's case, she is a native of Mexico who overstayed her tourist visa and married her husband in 1993, he said. The couple have five children, ages 4 to 14.

One Friday in June, the family arrived home to find several immigration agents there. A half-hour later, Gonzalez was arrested on an outstanding deportation order.

Nixon Avendano worries about how he'll be the breadwinner, cook, mother and father to the children -- especially to 4-year-old Edwin, who has autism. "He can't sleep at night," he said, as Edwin crawled on his back. "Nobody sleeps much at night.

"Their mom is the medicine right now, and I can't give them what they want."

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