Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
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PRESS RELEASE: Immigration Attorneys return to federal court to protect due process rights of immigrants

Source: MIRA
Date: April 19, 2007
4/19/2007 4:22 pm - Boston-MA On Thursday, April 19th, 2007 at the Moakley Federal Courthouse, attorneys appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns to continue their fight for due process and the rights of undocumented immigrants who were rounded up in an immigration raid at a New Bedford factory last month.

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 19, 2007

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert Sable, Executive Director, GBLS: (617) 371-1234

Ali Noorani, Executive Director, MIRA: (617) 835-1402

Immigration Attorneys return to federal court to protect due process rights of immigrants

Boston-MA On Thursday, April 19th, 2007 at the Moakley Federal Courthouse, attorneys appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns to continue their fight for due process and the rights of undocumented immigrants who were rounded up in an immigration raid at a New Bedford factory last month.

Judge Stearns decided to continue the temporary restraining order he had issued on April 6th, barring federal officials from deporting a number of undocumented immigrants rounded up and imprisoned in the raids. Judge Stearns also gave the immigration attorneys an opportunity to file a brief regarding jurisdiction issues.

Nancy Kelly of Greater Boston Legal Services recently returned from interviewing detainees who have been moved to another state. She commented, "In Texas, we found a group of people eager to talk to us. They explained how they had were sleep deprived during the process of their arrest and were not aware of what their rights were."

John Willshire-Carrera of Greater Boston Legal Services stated, "Our position is that people should never have been moved to Texas in the first place and that their due process claims should be heard here in Massachusetts. They are living in a black hole and we are concerned for their safety."

Private attorney, Harvey Kaplan of Kaplan, O’Sullivan and Friedman explained, "The real question is, are these people protected by the Constitution? The government is saying they have all the power. This getting close to the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII and to what’s happened at Guantanamo recently."

Robert Sable, the Executive Director of Greater Boston Legal Services succinctly summarized, "The ICE claim that people had access to attorneys is simply not true."

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MIRA works to advocate for the rights and opportunities of immigrants and refugees. In partnership with its members, MIRA advances this mission through education, training, leadership development, organizing, policy analysis and advocacy.
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