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U.S. Deports American Citizen

By Jeralyn, Section Civil Liberties
Posted on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 12:28:02 PM EST
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement got a little more egg on its face last week when it was disclosed it had deported a U.S. citizen. True, the man didn't know he had become a citizen at age 15. But, the law says the burden of proof is on the government when it comes to deportation. And shame on the prosecutor who continued to argue for his deporation after the information came to light.

Duarnis Perez became an American citizen when he was 15, but he didn't find out until after he had been deported and then jailed for trying to get back into the country. He was facing his second deportation hearing when he learned he was already a U.S. citizen. Still, federal prosecutors fought to keep him in custody.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Lord, who prosecuted Perez, declined comment when asked if the government would appeal. In a brief, she argued Perez was at fault for not knowing his status, saying he "cannot base his failure to discover the circumstances on the alleged omissions of others."

The federal judge hearing the case was having none of it:

Last week, a federal judge scolded prosecutors for the mistake. "In effect, the government is arguing that an innocent man who was wrongly convicted should not be released from the custody of the United States," U.S. District Judge Lawrence Kahn wrote. He ruled that Perez never should have been deported.

Perez ended up doing 3/12 years in jail for the re-entry after deportation charge. He is now suing the Justice Department, the Bureau of Prisons and Legal Aid. [Hat tip Patriot Daily.]

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    U.S. Deports American Citizen | 21 comments (21 topical)
    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#1)
    by Sailor on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 01:22:34 PM EST
    Man, they don't them ICE for nothing, those people are cold.

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#2)
    by ding7777 on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 01:42:20 PM EST
    Perez was deported to the Dominican Republic in 1994 after a drug conviction.
    Will he be resentenced for the drug conviction?

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 02:08:23 PM EST
    Doesn't the boy/man get some sort of legal representation - does he have parents or a guardian who knew of his legal status. How didn't this question ever come up in the man's defense?

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#4)
    by roger on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 02:20:26 PM EST
    Ding, People are generally deported after they have served the sentence Boca, He is suing legal aid. I would guess that they defended him

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#5)
    by Dadler on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 02:23:29 PM EST
    Please, unfortunate people like this fall through the cracks and get screwed every day. Hell, I suffer from paralysis caused by a wretched back, which is getting worse, and I'm having a hard time getting an MRI approved by my HMO so I can find out if I'll end up with more paralysis. I can only imagine what people with much less on their side endure and attempt to survive.

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#6)
    by roger on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 02:23:38 PM EST
    of course, if you click on the link, all of these questions are answered....

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#7)
    by cpinva on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 03:25:08 PM EST
    law, we don't need no stinkin' law!

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 05:09:12 PM EST
    The P-I's piece misses a key element of the story, that was in the New York Law Journal's original piece: ICE, when it went to deport for the second-time, realized he was an American citizen. ICE informed Mr. Perez. Mr. Perez was then able to have an excellent attorney provide assistance, and the rest, as they say, is history. I noted elsewhere:
    Duarnis Saul Perez served an entire 57-month sentence for illegally re-entering the United States after being deported. Unfortunately for Mr. Perez he is an American and therefore could not be an illegal alien. He did not discover he was an American citizen, however, until after Immigration and Customs Enforcement while doing a routine check preparing for his second deportation.
    Perez filed a sec. 2255 petition to vacate his conviction. The government opposed the petition even though it conceded Mr. Perez was, in fact, factually innocent. The New York Law Journal has the rest.
    Congrats to J. Jeffrey Weisenfeld, as well as to the unidentified representative of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement who advised Mr. Perez that he could not be deported because he is a citizen.
    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#9)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 06:46:02 PM EST
    Kinda reminds me of "Born In East LA." And can anybody tell me how he didn't know his Mother had been natutalized and that he was a citizen? I mean it been such an important day in his and his family's life and all that.

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 07:54:08 PM EST
    So one guy that should not have been deported was deported, but 12,000,000 that should be deported are not being deported. You'll have to cry on someone else's shoulder over this drug dealer.

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#11)
    by Sailor on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 08:08:01 PM EST
    So one guy that should not have been deported was deported, but 12,000,000 that should be deported are not being deported.
    Nice to know ppj and granola endorse deporting American citizens.

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#12)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 08:30:13 PM EST
    Sailor - Spewing things I didn't say, again. Ho hum, nothing new.

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#13)
    by Aaron on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 08:58:38 PM EST
    I wonder how many US citizens are wandering around in foreign countries right now as a result of the current anti-immigrant deportation craze. I'm sure this is not an isolated incident. Pretty soon we're all going to have to carry our birth certificates and footprints with us to prove we are Americans. I'm looking into my crystal ball again, I see the future, I see a national ID system being instituted, where we'll all be required by law to carry our ID or risk deportation or perhaps being shot as a suspected terrorist/illegal immigrant. JimakaPPJ You know Jim, you don't really look like an American to me. I think I'm going to have to give the border patrol a call regarding your immigrant status. Just make sure you have at least least three forms of ID on you at all times, otherwise you could wind up in Tijuana pleading your case to the putas. Don't worry I'll come visit you, and bring you some of that good old American food, like Taco Bell. :)

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 09:38:39 PM EST
    Posted by Aaron August 23, 2006 09:58 PM I wonder how many US citizens are wandering around in foreign countries right now as a result of the current anti-immigrant deportation craze.
    I don't have to wonder how many Mexican citizens are wandering around my city as a result of the current lack of deportations. I see them every day.

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#15)
    by pax on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 10:10:26 PM EST
    I read the judge's decision. This is one of those terrible situations that occurs from time to time. First of all, he and his mother claimed he was not a citizen. There would have been no evidence in his immigration file that would have indicated otherwise. An attorney he hired told him he might be a citizen, but never followed through on it. It was only after that an immigration officer figured out he was a citizen. Probably because he made a claim to citizenship based on what the attorney said. It looks to me like everyone who touched this case, including the individual had a case of the stupids. Not unusual once a case gets on that track. The part that troubles me is that the judge said that both the prosecutor and immigration erred because there was "constructive evidence" that the guy was a citizen. Under normal circumstances there would have been no evidence of citizenship in his file, no data base in the world would have divined this information. I'm not totally sure what "constructive evidence" is, but it, in my opinion puts an unreasonable burden on the government.

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#16)
    by roger on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 03:22:24 AM EST
    Next time, maybe those stupid ferners will get their bar code tatoo'ed on themselves. Granola, Glad that you can tell someone's citizenship, as well as ethnicity, just by looking at them. You seem Latvian to me. Get on the bus. Move along.

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#17)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 07:31:14 AM EST
    Aaron - One of the best lines in the movie, outside of the brother-in-law (cousin?) thinking Jesus was speaking to him over the TV, was: "No man, all I got in my jeans is my di*k and a quarter," as he tried to get home. I'll have the former, and much more than the latter. et al - Here we have a perfect example of how Sailor makes an incorrect statement, and then Aaron, in this case, pick's it up and wants to argue. Aaron, repeat after me. I didn't say the guy should have been deported, or that he was treated fairly. My point, I thought, was simple enough for you for understand. Why didn't he know he was a naturalized citizen? If he had, then I am sure he would have told his attorney? Could his inital reluctance have been because:
    Perez was deported to the Dominican Republic in 1994 after a drug conviction.
    I read that as meaning that he was deported rather than jailed. So, facing a prison term, he took the deportation, waited a few years and decided to sneak back, got caught and got nailed. Should the mistake have been made? No. But if someone doesn't claim to be a citizen should the INS say, "Don't lie! We know you are a citizen!." Aaron - You are worried about all the ID's we will need. Just think about what would have been required to find out he was a citizen! et al - The truth of the matter is this. If we intend to remain a viable country, we are going to have to control our borders. To do that we can do it two ways. 1. Close the borders. Period. Don't let'em in, and if you catch'em, deport'em, including all family members, even those born in the US, unless they can find a US citizen to be responsible for them until they are of age. 2. Do some type of "work program." This will require heavy ID to sort out the legals vs the illegals. I favor approach one.

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#18)
    by soccerdad on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 07:53:51 AM EST
    viable country,
    What do you mean by this?

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#19)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 10:56:13 AM EST
    Like many people, PPJ loses about 50 IQ points when the subject switches to immigration. First you attack Sailor for claiming that you support the deportation of US Citizens. Then you say: "Don't let'em in, and if you catch'em, deport'em, including all family members, even those born in the US" As you should know, all those born in the US are citizens, see 14th Am. Rounding up all family members because one member is out of status? Guilt by association? You don't understand the first thing about America. Other stupid assumptions in your most recent post are: It's incorrect that a convict is given a choice between a criminal prison sentence and removal by federal immigration authorities. Never happens, although I'm sure many convicts would prefer their home countries to prison, and many taxpayers would be pissed to learn they are paying $100 a day per prisoner to imprison people who will be deported after their sentence. It's also incorrect that a person must go through a naturalization process to get citizenhsip, and incorrect that those who gain derivative citizenship through a parent are informed in any manner of that fact. Many like Perez gain citizenship automatically when their parents naturalize, but unless you're an experienced immigration attorney, good luck trying to figure out the Child Citizenship Act.

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#21)
    by Sailor on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 08:39:11 PM EST
    Sailor said:
    So one guy that should not have been deported was deported, but 12,000,000 that should be deported are not being deported.
    Nope, never said that. Is it dementia or do you just have a problem with the truth?

    Re: U.S. Deports American Citizen (none / 0) (#20)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 09:46:32 PM EST
    Peter James - You write:
    and incorrect that those who gain derivative citizenship through a parent are informed in any manner of that fact
    I never said they was. My point was that, given that must have been a realllllllly important day, you would think that the mother would have told the son. I mean wouldn't you? Guess we need more familes that don't communicate.
    Perez was deported to the Dominican Republic in 1994 after a drug conviction.
    So the link was wrong? He wasn't convicted and then deported? He was convicted, served his time and then deported. That's not what the article said. Jamie ole chap. Don't call me dumb when all I am doing is quoting what the post's link said, which was that he was convicted and deported. Do you have any actual information, or just guessing? At least I read mine. Sailor said:
    So one guy that should not have been deported was deported, but 12,000,000 that should be deported are not being deported.
    Please read my comments prior to his wild claims and show me where I said this man should have been deported. In fact, I had said nothing about the subject. Later, I did say:
    Should the mistake have been made? No.
    So, you can't. How does it feel to realize you have zero reading comprehension?? Now, I did note that if we are to survive as a country we are going to have to start some harsh measures, including deporting the children of illegal aliens who just happened to have been born in the US while their parents were busy breaking the law being here. Now note I didn't say that was currently legal, Pete. I also didn't say anything about:
    It's also incorrect that a person must go through a naturalization process to get citizenhsip,
    So why throw that in?

    U.S. Deports American Citizen | 21 comments (21 topical)