M.C. Law Group immigration attorneys
Alex Meyerovich and Amy Morilla Miller met recently with the Molina
family of Stamford,
which has been experiencing firsthand the painful effects of being separated
from a loved one by the barriers of immigration law enforcement.
With the introduction of the
federal immigration regulation program Secure Communities -- that was recently
put into effect statewide in Connecticut
-- there may be more families sharing the Molinas' pain.
Secure Communities unites the
resources of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), and local law enforcement in order to more effectively
identify, detain, and remove criminal and/or illegal aliens. The program was
launched in 2008 and was implemented statewide in
Connecticut earlier this year. The program
is scheduled to be in effect nationwide by 2013.
Under the Secure Communities
program, any set of fingerprints taken by local law enforcement will
automatically be sent first to the FBI for a criminal record check, and next to
ICE for an immigration status check. If the database checks reveal a match to a
criminal record and/or an illegal or "otherwise removable"
immigration status, the individual will be immediately detained and subject to
deportation proceedings.
According to the program's
records, since October 2011 alone, Secure Communities has removed over 110,000
criminal aliens, including 39,500 removals of criminal aliens convicted for
aggravated felony abuses such as murder, rape, and child sex abuse.
Despite the program's success in
detaining and removing serious criminal alien offenders, it conversely has the
ability to remove aliens with no criminal record whatsoever. Attorney
Alex Meyerovich, who opposes the program, argues
that the ability for local law enforcement to detain illegal immigrants for
minor offenses, which can result in their deportation, represents an
overzealous and unnecessary extension of ICE's power. Meyerovich and other
critics of the program point to this and more potentially negative side effects
of the program as major flaws of Secure Communities.
"On the surface, Secure
Communities sounds like a very reasonable program. But what it means in reality
is that every time an alien comes in contact with the police, they will have an
increased fear of deportation," said Meyerovich. "This fear means
there will be a decreased incentive to talk to the police, which means crime --
and more specifically, domestic abuse situations and traffic accidents -- is
less likely to be reported by immigrant communities."
In addition to underreported crime,
Meyerovich argues that the uniform deportation of non-criminal aliens -- often
with established lives, businesses, and families in the
U.S. -- is another
detrimental side effect of Secure Communities, and one that has the potential
to rip many families apart.
"It's completely
absurd," said Meyerovich. "An alien can live here for years, pay
American taxes, work in or start an American business, and have American
spouses and children, but with Secure Communities, one encounter with local law
enforcement can potentially mean a non-negotiable ticket back home."
The Molina family knows the pain
of a family member being deported all too well. Meyerovich and fellow M.C. Law
Group attorney
Amy Morilla Miller
represent the family in their attempts to return Sandra Payes-Chacon -- wife of
U.S. citizen Rony Molina, and mother to U.S. citizen children Evelin, 19, Alex,
11, and Ronald, 8 -- to her home in Connecticut.
Payes-Chacon was detained and
deported to her native country
Guatemala
in 2010, and is now barred from entering the
U.S. for ten years. All of the
family's legal attempts to rectify her situation -- including a request for
humanitarian parole sent to the Department of Homeland Security -- have been
denied.
In her absence, Rony Molina and
his children must continue to endure the heartbreaking reality of being cut off
from their wife and mother for ten years. Payes-Chacon herself is suffering
from severe depression due to the separation.
"The children really need
the presence of their mother," said attorney Morilla Miller of the Molinas'
situation. "This family is being divided unnecessarily."
Although Payes-Chacon's
deportation did not occur because of Secure Communities, critics caution that
as the program continues to expand, cases like the Molina family's will become
more frequent. What troubles Morilla Miller about this prospect is the unsympathetic
attitude that she increasingly sees towards these unnecessary deportations.
"Some people might want to
dismiss what this family is going through, and say that the husband and
children should just pick up and move to
Guatemala, but that's
ridiculous," said Morilla Miller. "Her husband is a
U.S. citizen.
Her children are
U.S.
citizens, born and raised here like any American child.
Guatemala is
not only a foreign country to them, but one with poor employment and
educational prospects, limited access to medical resources, and one of the
worst crime rates. What American would want to raise their family in an
environment like that?"
As Secure Communities gets closer
to its goal of nationwide implementation by 2013, debates over immigration
reform and the rights of immigrants are sure to intensify. The rights of
illegal immigrants is a hotly contested issue among politicians and American
citizens alike, with many arguing for stricter immigration regulation and
harsher consequences for those who enter the country illegally.
However, Morilla Miller fervently
opposes such measures, and sees the current debate over illegal immigration as blatantly
ignoring
America's
storied history of welcoming immigrants.
"
America was founded on the scores
of immigrants who came to this country in pursuit of a better life, "
Morilla Miller said. "At some point, virtually every American citizen's
ancestors were immigrants. So what's the point of fighting for the rights of immigrants
to stay in this country? You. If someone had turned away your immigrant
ancestors, then you wouldn't be here either."
