Thread: Immigration hearings begin in Waterloo

Immigration hearings begin in Waterloo
JENNIFER JACOBS AND JERRY PERKINS • REGISTER STAFF WRITERS • May 13, 2008

Waterloo, Ia. — Ten Postville detainees, shackled at the waist and ankles, shuffled single-file into a retro ballroom in Waterloo this afternoon for their first court appearance on criminal charges connected with illegal immigration.

Each of the 10 men are charged with two felony counts: re-entry and aggravated identity theft, according to Chief Judge Linda Reade of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

Developing: A list of people detained in the raid

The men were given special earphones so that they could hear the court proceedings translated into Spanish.


The Electric Park Ballroom, an old-school music hall with a dance floor flanked by booths, a bar and retro chandeliers, served as the courtroom. The building is on the grounds of the National Cattle Congress, which U.S. Immigration and Customs officials are using as a temporary detention center for workers arrested in Postville.

Only 10 people had initial appearances today. The men were then transferred into the custody of U.S. marshals, who will take them to federally-certified jails, Reade said.

More hearings will take place Wednesday, she said.

Ten women are scheduled for initial appearance hearings at 10 a.m. Presiding will be Reade and magistrate Judges John Scoles and Paul Zoss.

The hearings will be open to the public.

Today's court proceedings are only for criminal actions, said Bob Teig, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Cedar Rapids.

Some of the detainees who will be among the first to see a judge have already spoken with a lawyer, Teig said. The lawyers were appointed by the court, not selected by the detainees.

"As far as anybody who faces criminal action, they will have an attorney before they go court," he said. So far, 19 detainees face criminal charges, Teig said. More charges are expected.

Earlier, lawyers for the Postville detainees had feared some would appear in court before they had a chance to talk to legal representation of their choosing.

Immigration lawyers have identified 147 detainees whose families are seeking legal representation in administrative action cases, and have given immigration officials the federal legal documents known as G-28s for all 147.

But starting at 9 a.m., the eight lawyers and six paralegals for the 147 people were isolated in a trailer.

"They've not seen one client," said Elizabeth Barnhill, executive director of Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, who has been in contact with the lawyers.

The waiting lawyers are immigration lawyers. The G-28 documents set up legal representation for administrative actions, not criminal actions. There's no such form for detainees who face criminal charges, Teig said.

Because of the number of arrests, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa temporarily relocated judges and other court personnel and services from Cedar Rapids to Waterloo, said Robert Phelps, the clerk of court for the district court.

Reade made the decision to set up court at Cattle Congress to make it easier for arrestees’ families to attend court proceedings and because of "the scope of the initiative," Phelps said.

There is inadequate space in the Cedar Rapids and Sioux City courthouses to hold and process those arrested, he said.

Hearings will be held sporadically throughout the next couple days, as the U.S. attorney’s office provides the court with lists, he said.

Documents will be scanned in and shipped back to the docket clerks in Sioux City and Cedar Rapids.

"On such short notice, this is the best we could do," Phelps said in a telephone interview.

The initial appearances will take place before a magistrate. For those who plead guilty or negotiate a plea agreement, sentencing will take place in a portable trailer before a district judge, Phelps said. The trailer has public seating for 22.

The entrance is on the east side of the Cattle Congress grounds.

Anyone seeking a seat in the courtroom will go through the same procedures as at a federal courthouse. They will be screened by security officers. They will walk through a metal detector. No recording devices will be allowed.

Claude Arnold, the ICE special agent heading the Postville operation said federal officials will be done with our intake procedures by Wednesday.

"We don’t anticipate that anybody will be detained at Waterloo at the fairgrounds past Wednesday night," Arnold said. "If criminal charges are pursued, they would go to the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service and would not be detained at the fairgrounds. If there are no criminal charges, they will remain in ICE custody for removal proceedings and they’ll have a hearing before an immigration judge."

Those hearings will take place throughout the country, "wherever we have detention space."

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They've not seen one client," said Elizabeth Barnhill, executive director of Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, who has been in contact with the lawyers.

Why is Elizabeth Barnhill, executive director of Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, at an ICE raid detainee place? Going to try for some Q visas for 'battered women'?