Court Lessens Effect of Deportation Laws

In a decision that could help thousands of immigrants facing deportation, a federal appeals court ruled that two 1996 immigration laws cannot be applied retroactively and the Justice Department cannot block judges from reviewing deportation orders. “If the Justice Department had prevailed, it would have been the first time in the history of this country that a legal resident could have been separated from his or her family, placed in detention and deported without any review by the courts to determine the deportation’s legal validity,” said Lee Gelernt, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union. Gelernt was representing Raul Percira Goncalves, 28, before the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. Goncalves, a legal permanent resident since he was 3, was convicted of several nonviolent crimes that subjected him to deportation.