The LAW & LAWYERS Blog

Here at Total Lawyers, we’ve recently reported on possible constitutional rights violations perpetrated by public servants in the welfare industry in San Diego. Consider also the recent disclosure that NYC firefighters have been trained by the Department of Homeland Security in anti-terrorist tactics, some of which includes racial profiling and all of which can be described as “spying.”

But now we’ve got EMTs on the lookout for terrorists? A recent Conde Nast Traveler blog post by a New York state EMT named Stephan Wilkinson offers an overview and a sound opinion on the matter. And you can find the original article to which he is referring online.

Isn’t this all getting a little out of hand? What’s next, elementary school teachers handing over names of students who draw stick figures with guns? Oh yeah, I forgot.

A Santa Ana woman has been sentenced to 37 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release, reports the San Jose Mercury News.  Tina Tran, the woman in question, apparently charged foreigners seeking U.S. citizenship up to $60,000 to participate in the scam.

According to reports, Tran’s scheme was elaborate and in-depth.  Those involved prepared fake wedding photo albums, love letters, and joint tax returns.  Authorities reportedly got wise to the scam when they noticed some participants were filing for green cards for multiple spouses.

At the time of her conviction, Tran was allegedly already in state custody for her participation in a far-reaching credit card fraud and identity theft ring.

CNN reports that the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has determined that removing the 12 million people it believes to be in the United States illegally would cost at least $94 billion. Julie Myers, head of the ICE recently, announced the figure in a hearing before a Senate committee.

A spokesman for the ICE said the $94 billion figure did not include the cost of finding illegal immigrants, nor court costs involved in removal proceedings. CNN says these costs are unknowable. It is apparent, however, that investigative and court costs could easily double the $94 billion estimate.

The ICE said they calculated the cost for removing illegals by multiplying 12 million people by an average 32 days in detention, at $97/day, plus $1,000 per person for transportation. They added the cost of ICE personnel to come up with their nearly $100 billion estimate.

By comparison, the annual budget of the Homeland Security Department is about $35 billion. Can we actually afford to deport all these hard working migrant workers? Perhaps, instead, we should finally join the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

Almost eight years after a raid on a Miami, Florida home, another case involving divorce law, immigration law, and diplomatic relations with Cuba is being decided in a Miami courtroom.

The New York Times reports that Rafael Izquierdo is fighting for his four-year-old daughter. Izquierdo is a farmer in Cuba who allowed the girl’s mother to bring her to the United States in 2005. Several months after their arrival, the girl’s mother attempted suicide and the girl and her half-brother were placed in foster care. The children, who have different fathers, were placed with Joe Cubas, a wealthy real estate developer, in 2006. Cubas is well known for helping Cuban baseball players defect to the United States.

Lawyers for Florida’s Department of Children and Families have argued that Izquierdo is not a fit father because he allowed his daughter to immigrate to the united with her mother, who he knew was unstable. Izquierdo’s lawyers dispute this claim. His lawyer said: “We want to keep the focus on whether or not a dad has the right to have his child. D.C.F. has not proven any neglect by our client Rafael.”

This case reminds us of Elian Gonzalez, who’s Cuban father came to the United States to be reunited with his son. Elian’s mother had drowned during the crossing and he had been placed with relatives in Miami. Anti-Castro immigrants held daily protests at the home where Elian lived and tried to prevent federal marshals from removing him from the house.

Bernard Perlmutter, a family law professor at the University of Miami who has followed both cases, said that “this matter is appropriately being adjudicated in a family court.”

In the Gonzalez case, Elian’s relatives produced what I’ve called the Bill Gates argument: Rather than being reunited with his father, Elian should remain in the United States with his relatives because they have the financial resources to give him a better life. If the court had accepted this argument, Bill Gates would have the right to select any child he wanted to raise as his own because he has greater financial resources than anyone else.

On May 1, the Farmworkers Support Committee (CATA) held an immgrant rights march in Bridgeton, New Jersey.  This isn’t the first time the organization has sponsored an event in support of immigration reform, but this time the organization was in for a surprise, in the form of $1,800 in “police fees” and a $200 clean-up deposit.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ), the city ultimately agreed to waive the requirement that the fees be paid in advance,  but indicated that CATA would be billed after the march.  After the march, the rules changed once again, and CATA received a letter demanding an additional $1,500 in “additional police expenses”.

The ACLU-NJ lawsuit on behalf of CATA says that Bridgeton officials exercised “unfettered, arbitrary discretion” in billing CATA for police expenses.  The city does not have an ordinance allowing it to impose fees for marches or parades.

Frank Corrado, who (on behalf of the ACLU-NJ) serves as pro bono counsel to CATA, said, “Imposition of these fees will mean that only the wealthy will be afforrded the right to speak out on issues, and our Constitution thankfully prohibits that.”

Although some restrictions on free speech, such as permit requirements and location restrictions, are allowed, the limitations must be “content neutral”–that is, they cannot act to prohibit one type of speech or the opinions of one group while allowing others.

On Thursday the US Senate voted 46-53 against President Bush’s plan to legalize millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States and tighten up borders.

The President and other supporters of the bill expressed disappointment of it’s failure and say that this legal issue will be brought up again.  However, with election year fast approaching, it’s not likely to be any time soon.  Opponents of the bill consider the decision to be fairly final.

Democrats and Republicans are strongly divided on the issue, but when it came down to the vote Republicans turned on Bush and many voted it down.  Without the full support of his party Bush could not get this bill through the Senate, so the immigration bill has died there.

Zoila Meyer thought she was an American. In fact, she fulfilled her civic duty by running for and being elected to the City Council of Adelanto, California. Now she faces deportation for illegally voting.

Meyer came to the United States, from Cuba, when she was one year old. Believing she already was an American citizen, she never filed for citizenship.

After police informed her she was a legal resident, but not actually a citizen, Meyer resigned from the city council. She pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of fraudulent voting (reduced from felony illegal voting), was put on probation, fined and ordered to pay restitution. Immigration officials then showed up at her home an told her to report to the San Bernardino immigration office where they handcuffed, frisked, and put her in jail.

A spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said “she can plead her case before an immigration judge.”