Thread: NC-New Bond Fund Helps NC Immigrants Get Fair Day in Court

New Bond Fund Helps NC Immigrants Get Fair Day in Court
SCSJ works with the fund to help low-income immigrant families

Brandon Greeson


February 24, 2010 12:06 pm



DURHAM, NC – A new bond fund is helping immigrants who are arrested post bond and access legal services. The Southern Coalition for Social Justice partnered with the National Immigrant Bond Fund to provide zero interest matching loans to immigrants who cannot afford to pay a full bond. The fund was created from a pool of private donors committed to protecting dignity and due process for immigrants. Since its inception in September, SCSJ has used the fund to help seven families.

Undocumented immigrants do not have the same right to due process and a fair trial afforded U.S. citizens. SCSJ says if immigrants cannot post bond immediately after entering Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, it can dramatically affect their ability to get justice. They say detainees are then accelerated into deportation proceedings, which are difficult to contest because they do not have the right to an attorney if they cannot afford one, face language barriers and lack access to documents they need to build their case since they are in custody.

Unlike bonds in the criminal courts, most families must pay immigration bonds in cash, rather than being able to pay 10% to a bond agency. Failure to post bond immediately can also result in a rapid transfer of detainees to courts outside of the state in which they were arrested.

This was the case with Samuel, who was arrested in Greensboro and rapidly transferred to the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. “Everyone there was like me: we had no money and no resources. They treated us worse than criminals. They treated us like animals,â€

[quote]“When immigrants are detained without being able to pay their bond, they are denied the right to fully defend their right to stay in this country, which often unjustly results in their being deported without being able to see their families or tie up outstanding obligations,â€

You have got to be kidding me. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! Who are these "private donors"?

http://immigrantbondfund.org/nibf/main/default.aspx

"$0Donate to the National Immigrant Bond Fund! 100% of your tax deductible donation goes directly to help an immigrant$0Click here to donate online!$0$0 Our Partners | National Bond Fund & Steering Committees | Contact Us$0$0Our Mission$0All people in America, including immigrants, deserve basic human rights and dignity. This includes the right to legal counsel, ability to communicate and visit with children and families, and humane treatment in custody. $0$0The National Immigrant Bond Fund seeks to reaffirm the values of dignity and due process by helping immigrants detained in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions to post bond quickly to secure a fair hearing in America’s courts.$0The Challenge$0ICE agents and local police conduct workplace raids and other enforcement actions across the country without accountability. They detain and separate hard-working immigrant parents from their children. Detainees who can not afford the bond for release are in accelerated deportation proceedings - with little opportunity to contact their families or legal counsel.$0$0

" People who are detained by ICE need to post bond immediately to establish immigration court jurisdiction in the district where they were arrested, and avoid ICE's rapid transfer of detainees outside the district. Posting bond also improves the detainee's ability to present his/her case before a judge.$0$0 $0

"$0$0Our Response$0> We help immigrants who are swept up in ICE and local enforcement actions. When a person who is detained by ICE pays an immigration bond, s/he can be released while the case is pending. The Bond Fund works with local nonprofits to provide a matching loan to help eligible immigrants post bond. The immigrant's family or friends raise a portion of the bond money too. At the end of the case, the bond funds are returned to the program to help other immigrants! $0$0> We work to build public support for immigration reform by focusing on harsh immigration enforcement tactics, and the lack of rights afforded detainees. $0$0> We support local communities’ efforts to respond effectively to ICE enforcement actions.$0 $0$0$0$0$0$0ICE Victims We Have Helped$0$0$0$0$0$0New Bedford, MA raid, 3/7/07: $0Teresa A.$0Bernardo A.$0Ricardo B.$0Bernabe C.$0Cruz C.$0Jose C.$0Isabel C.$0Guadalupe F.$0Leonete F.$0Arlete G.$0Victoria H.$0Elsy H.$0Esperanza L.$0Antonia M.$0Ricardo M.$0Hector M.$0Zenona O.$0Domingo O.$0Sonia O.$0Manuel P.$0Susana P.$0Yolanda R.$0Margarita R.$0Valencio S.$0Carlos S.$0Bacilia S.$0Mateo T.$0Maximo T.$0Alberto T.$0Morente S.$0Juana G. $0Tomas G.$0Marta G.$0Yolanda O.$0Yaquelin V.$0Teresa Z.$0Luis T.$0$0$0$0Van Nuys, CA raid, 2/8/08:$0Flora F.$0Ernestina C.$0Maria A.$0Dianelly G.$0Jose G.$0Altagracia M.$0Martha R.$0Martha E.$0Evencio O.$0Jose R.$0Maria C.$0Leticia M.$0Laura S.$0Jose A.$0Josefina C.$0Wilser G.$0Graciela H.$0Manuel B.$0Ana S.$0Julio G.$0Silvia T.$0Luis G.$0Hugo M.$0Mirna S.$0Alejandro G.$0Manuel D.$0Mirna L.$0$0San Francisco, CA raid 5/2/08:$0Jose P.$0Felipe M.$0Lydia B.$0Daniel G$0Miami, FL arrest, 5/08:$0Daphne D.$0$0$0Annapolis, MD raid, 6/30/08:$0Luis H.$0Cesar L.$0Henry M.$0Rodolfo S.$0Oscar S.$0Juan Carlos G.$0Hugo G.$0Wilson L.$0Carlos S.$0Jose R.$0$0Providence, RI raid, 7/15/08:$0Arquimedes N.$0Filiberto C.$0Ruiz A.$0Jorge C.$0Nelson M.$0Alcibiades M.$0William A.$0Johnny F.$0Luis C$0Loveland, CO raid, 7/16/08:$0Manuel C.$0Carlos S.$0Jose S.$0Fabian C.$0Mario M.$0Rogelio R.$0Servin S.$0Bernardo O.$0Juan M.$0Miguel M.$0Ruben M.$0$0$0Asheville, NC raid, 8/12/08:$0Edell S. $0Laurel, MS raid, 8/25/08:$0Ismael C.$0Salvador A.$0Rodolfo L.$0Mariano M.$0Anastacio C.$0Jacobo D.$0Osvaldo R.$0Carlos P.$0Victor S.$0$0Seattle, WA:$0Jose P. $0Sarita, TX arrest, 11/2/08:$0Lucero N.$0$0Palm Beach, FL$06/09:$0$0Andres J.$0$0North Carolina, 9/09 to present:$0$0M.Y.$0Luis E.$0Samuel U.$0Anulfo S.$0Alan R.$0$0$0$0Jacobo Diego, home for a fair hearing and a family celebration, thanks to the Bond Fund$0Jacobo Diego, home for a fair hearing and a family celebration, thanks to the Bond Fund$0$0$0$0$0$0 $0$0How you can help$0$0Click here to make a donation to help immigrants secure legal counsel and be with their families. $0$0$0$0100% of your tax deductible donation goes to the payment of bonds. $0$0$0Or, mail your donation to National Immigrant Bond Fund c/o Public Interest Projects, 45 W 36th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY, 10018. (Checks should be made to “National Immigrant Bond Fund/Public Interest Projectsâ€