Citation

Publication Date: 2008-12-04
Format: Op-Ed or News Article
Bibliography: Jennifer Lee Koh, Esq., Immigrants Rights Signed Away?, New American Media, December 4, 2008.

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In the past several years, nearly 100,000 non-citizens have been silently sent to their home countries under a federal government program called “stipulated removal.” Most of these 100,000 were in immigration detention. A vast majority had no criminal record. An overwhelming number did not have a lawyer. Under these conditions, government officials convinced them to sign pieces of paper that allowed the government to remove them right away, without a hearing before an immigration judge. It is not a surprise, then, that advocates are hearing reports that some were pressured to sign those papers.