Asylum seekers who have finished their court cases are being sent back to Mexico with documents that contain fraudulent future court dates, keeping some migrants south of the border indefinitely, records show.
News Story (California)
Gustavo Solis
Los Angeles Times (LA Times)
November 7, 2019
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Tags: Immigration
News Story (California)
Gustavo Solis
Los Angeles Times (LA Times)
November 7, 2019
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Tags: Immigration
DETAILS
Lawyers said asylum seekers without legal representation who have been sent back in this manner likely have no way of advocating for themselves. It took Goodwin hours of calls to high-level officials in both U.S. and Mexican immigration agencies plus the threat of a lawsuit to get her client back in the United States.
“If you don’t have someone who’s willing to sit around and spend five hours on the phone and stay up all night drafting litigation to force their hand, you’re going to be stuck,” she said.
As news of these false hearing dates spread among the immigration attorney community, some lawyers are taking proactive steps to protect their clients from being returned to Mexico after their court cases are closed.