Thread: CA-San Rafael assault victim could be deported

San Rafael assault victim could be deported
After missing court, her arrest led to federal immigration hold
Gary Klien
Article Launched: 08/05/2008 05:55:00 PM PDT


A San Rafael woman who was allegedly attacked and bitten by her husband, and reported it to local authorities, could face deportation after missing a court date to testify against him.
Ligia Catzim, 25, was jailed last week after she failed to show up for court and Judge Faye D'Opal ordered her arrest. Once Catzim was booked into the county jail, authorities added a no-bail federal immigration hold - meaning she can't be released from custody, regardless of what happens in the domestic violence case, until federal authorities investigate her citizenship status.

This could lead to Catzim's deportation, said Jason Nelson, her lawyer. He said Catzim has been victimized twice - first by her husband, then by the system that was supposed to protect her.

"Something went very wrong, obviously," Nelson said. "This is an egregious miscarriage of justice."

Meanwhile, Catzim's husband, Pablo Xitamul Ortiz, has been offered a misdemeanor plea bargain by the district attorney's office. He was originally charged with mayhem and domestic violence.

Ortiz, 30, is also being detained on a no-bail immigration hold and could be deported as well.

The incident occurred at 11:30 p.m. July 10 at the couple's apartment in the Canal neighborhood. Catzim locked herself in the bathroom and escaped out the window after Ortiz threw her on the ground, bit her on the face and pulled out her hair, said San Rafael police spokeswoman Margo Rohrbacher.

"He was angry because he came home and

she wasn't there and she wouldn't tell him where she was," Rohrbacher said. "He was angry because he thought she should always tell him where she was going."
Ortiz was booked into the county jail. Catzim declined medical treatment, despite bite marks on her face.

A preliminary examination of the evidence was set for July 23 before Judge D'Opal. The district attorney's office met with Catzim twice and gave her subpoenas in English and Spanish that ordered her to testify at the preliminary hearing.

But after studying the Spanish-language subpoena at home, Catzim noticed the document carried the threat of arrest if she failed to cooperate, Nelson said. This passage confused and panicked her, so she decided to avoid the courthouse altogether, Nelson said.

When she failed to show up in court, the district attorney's office asked D'Opal to issue a "body attachment" - essentially an arrest warrant for contempt of court.

Even without Catzim's testimony, D'Opal ruled there was enough evidence to try Ortiz on the charges. Late Friday afternoon, prosecutors offered to reduce the case to a misdemeanor in exchange for his guilty plea.

Ortiz, who has pleaded not guilty, has not yet decided whether to accept the plea bargain, said his lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Bonnie Marmor. She noted that Ortiz has no prior criminal record.

Ortiz is back in court Thursday for further hearings. Lawyers are still arranging a hearing for Catzim.

Even if Catzim is cleared of the contempt of court action, she still has to fight the federal immigration hold. Legal experts said she could be eligible for a so-called "U visa," a special status for immigrant crime victims who help U.S. authorities in a criminal investigation.

The U-visa program, launched by the federal government in 2000, extends "nonimmigrant" citizenship status for up to four years to victims of domestic violence, sex crimes, trafficking and other violent crimes. But it is unclear how long that process would take, and whether Catzim will remain in the county jail in the interim.

"It's kind of up in the air," Nelson said.

Catzim's last known job was as a part-time clerk at a San Rafael ice cream shop.




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Contact Gary Klien via e-mail at gklien@marinij.com



http://www.marinij.com/sanrafael/ci_10107239

She missed the court date, which was a real bad idea. Don't think she should get a U visa.

American women get restraining orders against their husbands sometimes and end up dead anyway. The system is not fool-proof.