June 22, 2006
Ruling Opens Door to Deportations for longtime Illegal Aliens (Fernandez-Vargas v. Gonzales)

Washingon Post

The Supreme Court endorsed a tough application of immigration law to certain longtime illegal immigrants, clearing the way for summary deportations of perhaps thousands who have been living in the United States for a decade or more.

By a vote of 8 to 1, the court ruled that the U.S. government properly sent Utah truck driver Humberto Fernandez-Vargas back to Mexico in 2004 because he returned to the U.S. illegally in 1982 after having been previously deported.

The court ruled that he and others in a similar position are covered retroactively by the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which says illegal immigrants who reenter the country after a previous deportation must be removed, usually with no opportunity for an appeal or change in immigration status, and must stay away for at least 10 years.

full story

Posted by Tyne at June 22, 2006
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