Classes Offered on Fighting Deportation

Illegal immigrants in the process of being deported who can prove they have been in the United States for at least seven years are learning how to press their own cases for suspension of deportation in immigration court.

A pilot program to train prospective deportees has been set up by attorneys from the El Rescate center for Latin American immigrants and refugees, based in Pico-Union. The first class was held March 9, and a second one was Thursday.

The program grew out of a recent garment shop raid by the Department of Immigration and Naturalization that left 12 Mexican nationals facing deportation. When they came to El Rescate for help, they found they could qualify for a suspension of deportation because they had been here more than seven years, said El Rescate staff attorney Robert Foss.

But El Rescate’s two-man legal team was too busy to handle all the cases, Foss said. Unable to find other pro bono representation for the garment workers, the attorneys decided to teach the workers how to represent themselves in court through an interpreter. Later, they realized this could work for many others facing deportation who cannot obtain affordable legal counsel.

“Immigration (authorities) might never tell them they have the right to be here,” said Foss, who is teaching the classes. “It’s an empowering experience for them to be able to speak to a judge and explain why they should stay in the U.S.”

Participants are being taught how to put together paperwork and present their cases. They are taught the criteria that immigration courts use to consider suspension of deportation, including the need to provide proof that they have been in the country for seven continuous years, that they have not had criminal convictions and have contributed positively to society through their jobs or other means, or that returning to their country would cause them or their children extreme financial or medical hardship.

Prospective deportees seeking political asylum can also argue that their lives would be endangered by returning to a country undergoing political turmoil, Foss said.

Immigration judges look at all the criteria, but their decision is discretionary and requires no explanation, Foss said.

“I don’t want to raise expectations, because many people will not be approved due to the judge’s discretion,” Foss said. “We’re just trying to analyze if this is the appropriate response to this problem.”

Foss said the participants’ response to the classes will be evaluated before a third session is set up. The ultimate test, he said, will be how well the garment workers stand up in court. Their hearings are set for May and June.