LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A criminal alien, who had been previously deported three times, was sentenced in federal court on Monday to more than five years in prison for illegally reentering the United States as a convicted felon. This sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Crisantos Almazan-Ibenez, 36, was sentenced March 22 in the Western District of Kentucky to 69 months in federal prison for illegally reentering the U.S. after being previously deported as an aggravated felon.
Almazan-Ibenez pleaded guilty to illegally entering the United States without obtaining the required permission from the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Records checks conducted by ICE revealed that Almazan-Ibenez had been previously deported on three occasions. He was last deported to Mexico in April 2004 after serving a prison sentence for a 1995 conviction for attempted second-degree murder. He was also convicted of trafficking in marijuana in 2000.
He will be deported again to Mexico after he completes his five years and nine months prison sentence for illegal reentry. Reentering the United States after being formally deported is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
"ICE will not tolerate those who show a blatant disregard for our nation's immigration laws," said Ricardo Wong, field office director of the ICE Office of Detention and Removal Operations in Chicago. "This significant prison sentence sends a strong message of deterrence to criminal aliens who think they can treat our borders like a revolving door."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Ream, Western District of Kentucky, prosecuted this case.
-- ICE --
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.
ICE comprises four integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423.
Last Modified: Wednesday, March 24, 2010
[Posted by Marwin Yeung]
http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1003/100323louisville.htm
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Bill would aid undocumented immigrants
by: Mitchell Schmidt
February 11, 2010
Eva wants nothing more than to go to an Iowa university. But the 21-year-old has one problem: She is an undocumented immigrant.
The Marshalltown High graduate, who asked not to be named because of her immigration status, must pay thousands more in out-of-state tuition if she wants to pursue higher education — a price the Tijuana, Mexico, native cannot afford.
“It’s really frustrating,” she said. “I really want to go to school.”
A bill in the Iowa House Education Committee could change that.
The bill — the Iowa Opportunities and Workforce Act — would allow undocumented immigrants more access to higher education by charging them the same in-state tuition as their classmates and friends.
Under the bill, students would be required to attend at least five years of school in Iowa, graduate from an Iowa high school, and sign an affidavit stating they will apply for legal status as soon as eligible.
[Posted by: Juliana Steers]
Monday, January 25, 2010
Court: Ashcroft can be sued over post-9/11 policy
Court: Ashcroft can be sued over post-9/11 policy
BOISE, Idaho - A federal appeals court delivered a stinging rebuke yesterday to the Bush administration's post-Sept. 11 detention policies, ruling that former Attorney General John Ashcroft can be held liable for people who were wrongfully detained as material witnesses in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks.A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said the government's improper use of material witnesses was "repugnant to the Constitution and a painful reminder of some of the most ignominious chapters of our national history."
The court found that a man who was detained as a witness in a federal terrorism case can sue Ashcroft for allegedly violating his constitutional rights. Abdullah al-Kidd, a U.S. citizen and former University of Idaho student, filed the lawsuit against Ashcroft and other officials in 2005, claiming his civil rights were violated when he was detained as a material witness for two weeks in 2003 and then placed under court supervision.
Kidd said the investigation and detention not only caused him to lose a scholarship to study in Saudi Arabia but also cost him employment opportunities and caused his marriage to fall apart.
[Posted by Ida Micaily]
Arab American Facing Deportation, Separation From Family
Arab American Facing Deportation, Separation From Family
Anees Sous, originally from the West Bank, came to the U.S. on a student visa in 1982 to attend Wayne State University. Though his visa has long been expired, he stayed in the country, raised six U.S.-born children and started a business. He was detained by immigration authorities in 2001 and released on $10,000 bond.
Anees Sous, (second right), a Hamtramck
business owner who's been in the U.S.for 27
years, is set to be deportedto Jordan
on Wednesday, leaving behind six U.S.
-born children, unless a U.S. Congressman intervenes
by introducing a private bill addressing his case.
His lawyers have since exhausted every avenue of trying to keep him in the country long enough to establish permanent status, but courts have denied his appeals, forcing him to prepare to leave his wife, home, trucking company and six children, ages 7 to 20, behind. Sous has purchased a Jan. 20 plane ticket to Jordan to fulfill his deportation order. He's unsure what he'll do there or how he'll be treated by Jordanian authorities.
"The worst thing, really, is that my wife, my kids are here. It's the middle of the school year. It's a mess," Sous said.
He acknowledges that he overstayed his visa, but believes his contributions to his community and the country should outweigh having stayed illegally.
"I've been staying here for more than 27 years," Sous said, "paying my taxes, paying my kids' tuition in college and never did anything wrong. And now they're telling me I've got to go. It makes me really angry, sad. Unfair. It's an unfair thing... The judges should really take a look at the big picture. Yes I'm overstaying my visa, but I have six U.S.-born children. "
Sous's lawyer Robert Birach said previous attorneys failed to consolidate the cases of Sous and his wife, who is eligible for permanent resident status. He said authorities have refused to reopen his case to allow the consolidation, which would have likely allowed Sous to stay.
Birach said Sous also admitted to working illegally for a time in 1991, and not declaring all his income to the IRS that year, further complicating his appeals.
Birach said his client paid what he owes in taxes and has raised children with promising futures who still need their father.
"Whatever happened, happened 18 years ago. It shouldn't be held against him now," he said. "It's really a sad story... It breaks up the family... This just flies in the face of everything that's right and good and just about America."
Sous's two oldest daughters graduated from the University of Michigan last month.
"They wanted to go for their master's. But now we stopped because, if I'm not working, how are they gonna pay for tuition?" Sous said. "The youngest ones, they still do not understand it. It's hard. How do you tell a seven year old you're leaving. Sometimes I imagine the day that I'll be leaving. That will be hard."
[Posted by Ida Micaily]
The Arab American News, News Report, Khalil AlHajal, Posted: Jan 19, 2010
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=20ac11c3ee570511ead9e1d8b41e7fe3
Anees Sous, originally from the West Bank, came to the U.S. on a student visa in 1982 to attend Wayne State University. Though his visa has long been expired, he stayed in the country, raised six U.S.-born children and started a business. He was detained by immigration authorities in 2001 and released on $10,000 bond.
Anees Sous, (second right), a Hamtramck
business owner who's been in the U.S.for 27
years, is set to be deportedto Jordan
on Wednesday, leaving behind six U.S.
-born children, unless a U.S. Congressman intervenes
by introducing a private bill addressing his case.
His lawyers have since exhausted every avenue of trying to keep him in the country long enough to establish permanent status, but courts have denied his appeals, forcing him to prepare to leave his wife, home, trucking company and six children, ages 7 to 20, behind. Sous has purchased a Jan. 20 plane ticket to Jordan to fulfill his deportation order. He's unsure what he'll do there or how he'll be treated by Jordanian authorities.
"The worst thing, really, is that my wife, my kids are here. It's the middle of the school year. It's a mess," Sous said.
He acknowledges that he overstayed his visa, but believes his contributions to his community and the country should outweigh having stayed illegally.
"I've been staying here for more than 27 years," Sous said, "paying my taxes, paying my kids' tuition in college and never did anything wrong. And now they're telling me I've got to go. It makes me really angry, sad. Unfair. It's an unfair thing... The judges should really take a look at the big picture. Yes I'm overstaying my visa, but I have six U.S.-born children. "
Sous's lawyer Robert Birach said previous attorneys failed to consolidate the cases of Sous and his wife, who is eligible for permanent resident status. He said authorities have refused to reopen his case to allow the consolidation, which would have likely allowed Sous to stay.
Birach said Sous also admitted to working illegally for a time in 1991, and not declaring all his income to the IRS that year, further complicating his appeals.
Birach said his client paid what he owes in taxes and has raised children with promising futures who still need their father.
"Whatever happened, happened 18 years ago. It shouldn't be held against him now," he said. "It's really a sad story... It breaks up the family... This just flies in the face of everything that's right and good and just about America."
Sous's two oldest daughters graduated from the University of Michigan last month.
"They wanted to go for their master's. But now we stopped because, if I'm not working, how are they gonna pay for tuition?" Sous said. "The youngest ones, they still do not understand it. It's hard. How do you tell a seven year old you're leaving. Sometimes I imagine the day that I'll be leaving. That will be hard."
[Posted by Ida Micaily]
Friday, January 22, 2010
Chaffetz's immigration plan would exclude path to citizenship
By Matt Canham
The Salt Lake Tribune
Politicians passionate about immigration reform are attempting to define the debate in anticipation that Congress may take up the highly volatile issue this year.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, leads a group of freshman Republicans and moderate Democrats who support a resolution that says any reform proposal must not include a way for undocumented immigrants to gain legal status. The resolution supported by 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats also calls for bolstered border protection and a new requirement for all employers to verify the immigration status of their workers using the federal E-Verify program.
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14240427
[Posted by Juliana Steers]
The Salt Lake Tribune
Politicians passionate about immigration reform are attempting to define the debate in anticipation that Congress may take up the highly volatile issue this year.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, leads a group of freshman Republicans and moderate Democrats who support a resolution that says any reform proposal must not include a way for undocumented immigrants to gain legal status. The resolution supported by 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats also calls for bolstered border protection and a new requirement for all employers to verify the immigration status of their workers using the federal E-Verify program.
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14240427
[Posted by Juliana Steers]
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