CALIFORNIA, United States—Pablo obtained his green card through his wife Luisa. He was initially petitioned as a fiancé and later on as the husband of a US citizen. The marriage, however, was short-lived.
After a few months, Pablo discovered that Luisa was still going out with her former boyfriend. Luisa left the conjugal home. Pablo was heartbroken.
He has no other relatives in the US so he has kept himself busy at work for the last two years. Last week, his employer asked for a copy of his current green card. Pablo was not aware that his green card was only good for two years and that it had expired a few months back.
After realizing that his legal status had expired, he consulted a lawyer and filed for an extension of his green card. He was told that upon expiration of his status, he had been accruing unlawful presence in the US. This meant he was now an undocumented alien.
After examining his case, the lawyer also discovered that Pablo had a prior deportation order. A notice for hearing and the deportation order had been sent to his “old” address. He now runs the risk of being removed from the United States if the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) catches up with him.
Pablo was deprived of his right to a hearing and wants to have his case reopened so he can raise possible defenses in court.
A Motion to Reopen his case must be filed with the immigration court in order that Pablo may have the chance to be heard. If this motion is granted, he will have his day in court; and if he prevails, he will get a new green card.
More deportees last year
Pablo did the right thing in seeking court relief instead of just accepting an immigration court order without a fight. Unfortunately, there are several non-US citizens who decide to just leave the US and voluntarily depart without any immigration court order.
ICE reported that their agency deported 392,662 illegal aliens, a relatively high number that indicates enhanced enforcement of immigration law.
Filipino immigrants who remain undocumented are not exempt from this. For those who have cases like Pablo, there is constant fear of a sudden arrest and subsequent deportation.
However, not all undocumented aliens are being forced out of the country. ICE usually targets criminal aliens and “fugitives.” An individual who fails to depart the US upon a final order of removal, deportation, or exclusion by a US immigration judge or who fails to report to ICE after receiving a notice to do so is considered a “fugitive.”
Options taken
Each individual deportee’s case is different. There are those who really do not wish to return to their homeland. While there are also those who submit to court orders and voluntarily depart. There are those who just skip the whole court process and just leave the US discreetly.
After spending more than 25 years as an undocumented alien in the US, a certain Glenda was able to save enough money to go back to her province and spend her retirement years comfortably with her family. To her, leaving the US voluntarily was not a problem.
However, if Glenda had not been able to accumulate any savings, and if, as is common in many cases, her earnings all these years were sent home to support her family and her siblings (mostly unemployed), then voluntarily leaving the US may not be an option. She would have nothing to return to and no means to support herself and her family.
In such a case, Glenda’s initial option of being a “fugitive” in the US would probably be an attractive risk to take.
There are available reliefs from deportation. In Pablo’s case above, he can defend himself by raising a waiver based on a good-faith marriage. There are also many who can raise the defense of “Cancellation of Removal” or “Adjustment of Status.”
Clogged courtrooms
At present, immigration courts are facing the worst backlog of pending deportation and asylum cases. There are not enough judges to handle the hundreds of thousands of cases of undocumented individuals who are facing deportation.
In one news article, it was reported that immigration judges are “on the verge of a nervous breakdown.” They mentioned an immigration judge from Minnesota who quit his job because of the pressure of having to handle thousands of deportation cases. While the Department of Justice is hiring more immigration judges, it has not been able to ease the backlog of cases.
It is expected that the situation will only get worse because of the increase in deportees who are opting to have a hearing before a judge.
Generally, a deportee will have to wait at least two years before the immigration judge comes out with a decision. The delay may work in favor of the deportee but it may also cause more stress based on the uncertainty of their immigration fate.
While there are judges who suffer illnesses as a result of work pressure, there are also deportees who get seriously ill pending hearing of their cases. I have experienced having to request the dismissal of deportation cases because the respondents either suffered a fatal heart attack or died of sickness pending the hearing. It is not surprising then that some of the undocumented decide to be a fugitive or just simply voluntarily depart.
There are mounting challenges that immigrants face in the light of an immigration crackdown. What each deportee needs to understand is the legal consequences of every decision they make.
It is understandable that the “family” is the main reason for working abroad but it is also the “family” who will welcome you back if hope of living abroad becomes dim.
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