*special thanks to my friend Adam for bringing this review to my attention!!

Victory: Immigrant Meat Packers Not Criminals!

The Supreme Court unanimously decided today to overrule the Bush Adminstration’s tactics to criminalize the immigrant workers it prosecuted on charges of aggravated identity theft during the May 12, 2008 Postville raid on the basis that the government must prove knowledge as an element of aggravated identity theft. 

The Court said that it is possible to prove knowldege where a defendant digs through someones’ trash to find discarded credit card receipts, and equivalent evidence should be used to prove knowledge in cases of aggravated identity theft even though the government claimed that it would be too hard to prove a defendant knew the identification belonged to someone else.  

The Postville, Iowa kosher meatpacking plant was raided by ICE, the enforcement arm of the DHS, who were on the hunt for unauthorized workers.  They found their booty, and arrested nearly 400 immigrants who were working with false work authorization, mostly from Guatemala.  At hearings, which were often conducted “en mass,” the accused immigrants were counseled by attorneys who encouraged plea agreements through a scripted speech, who explained that aggravated identity theft carries a minimum two years in prison, and encouraged the Postville defendants to plead guilty to lesser charges.  The defendants were not counseled by immigration attorneys when they accepted the guilty pleas.

Ignacio Flores-Figueroa’s case came before the Supreme court, the government had charged him with misusing immigration documents and of aggravated identity theft, even though the government did not prove that the Postville worker had actual knowledge that  the social security number belonged to someone else.  According to today’s ruling, the government must establish that the individual charged must have known that the identification belonged to another person.  

I hope that this decision signals a turning point in the trends and direction of our country to move toward comprehensive immigration reform to create policies that decriminalize immigrants, and more importantly provide pathways to legality for all those hiding in the shadows of our workforce. 

Same sex partner of 23 years deported because marriage is not recognized

On Friday, April 2, Shirley Tan of San Mateo, CA, is scheduled to be deported back to the Philippines, leaving behind her life partner, Jaylynn “Jay” Mercado, and their twin 12-year-old sons. Tan and Mercado were married in San Francisco in 2004, but their marriage was voided by the state. Even if their marriage were still valid on the state level, the federal Defense of Marriage Act would prevent Mercado from sponsoring her partner of 23 years. If Tan and Mercado were opposite sex, Tan could legally stay in the country.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced the Uniting American Families Act into Congress last month. The bill would allow Americans in a same-sex relationship to sponsor their “permanent partners” for legal residency in the United States. Last week, the White House issued a statement about the Uniting American Families Act, saying “[President Obama] thinks Americans with partners from other countries should not be faced with a painful choice between staying with their partner or staying in their country.”

Approximately 37,000 couples in the U.S. face circumstances similar to those of Tan and Mercado. It is doubtful that any legislation will be passed before the Friday deadline for Tan’s deportation. Immigration Equality Executive Director Rachel B. Tiven said, “We are hopeful their members of Congress will introduce a private bill that would spare their twin boys and the boys’ grandmother from having the country they love tear their family apart.”

Why immigrants are more vulnerable to criminal convictions

The following NY Times editorial describes the consequences of demonization and dehumanization of unauthorized workers and undocumented immigrants which leads to inappropriate  criminal penalties for aggravated identity theft.

New York Times, February 25, 2009, Editorial

And Unequal Justice for Some

The Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday in the case of an illegal immigrant who provided an employer with phony identification numbers. The court must decide whether he can be convicted of the crime of aggravated identity theft — which carries a heavy mandatory prison sentence — even though he did not know the numbers belonged to specific people.

Raids don't fix anything.

Last night marked President Obama’s first Presidential Address which echoed his (inspiring) campaign promises of change, a brighter future, accountablilty and responsibility, and the capacity for every ordinary person to become extraordinary through actions and choice. 

Ironically, the first worksite raid under the Obama administration also took place last night which painted an entirely different picture reminding me of the enormity of the challenge to reform immigration.  In Bellingham, Washington, 126 workers including US Citizens were questioned and temporarily detained, while 28 primarily Mexican workers were chained and transported to a detention facility (three were released for humanitarian reasons) marking another enforecement-only action by ICE as the solution to unauthorized employment. 

These enforcement only measures reflect a continuation of the same policies carried out under the Bush administration, and undermine Obama’s campaign promise as well as his demands for change presented during his presidential address.  Addressing the issue of unauthorized workers through raids does not resolve the root of the issue.  Immigration reform is ripe for review, and the enforcement-only solution is not an acceptable answer.

“I called  Speaker Nancy Pelosi & Chairman David Obey  and one congress person… HTH  L, D  ( ps so did mommy ) 

Ask your loved ones to make a couple phone calls! (I’m not sure what HTH means…L,D = Love, Daddy)