Midyear Meeting 2009
ABA House Calls for Immigration Representation
Posted Feb 16, 2009 8:18 AM CST
By Edward A. Adams
Individuals detained for alleged immigration law violations should be told they have a right to counsel, be allowed to contact their lawyers by telephone, and be instructed of their rights in a language they can understand, the ABA’s policy-making House of Delegates said today.
“These are just basic American due process values,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a professor at George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C.
Resolution 101C (PDF) passed on overwhelming voice vote. No one spoke in opposition to it.
All House resolutions, along with other background information about the session, are available here. A summary of Monday's action on those resolutions is here.
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Should Supreme Court Justices Be Able to Review News Accounts Before Publication?
Comments
J.D.
Feb 16, 2009 12:34 PM CST
“No one spoke in opposition to it.”
Like all previous ABA meetings, the lack of diversity and soviet-style debate—i.e. none—renders the entire process meaningless.
Under the law, not all aliens are entitled to a court hearing. Expedited removal is one example. So all those in agreement to this resolution are either ignorant, or trying to change policy without being honest.
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B. McLeod
Feb 16, 2009 3:28 PM CST
I think the resolution’s call for legislation and/or administrative standards in furtherance of its aims is an open recognition that change in policy is involved. I aso think some of those aims are well founded (e.g., providing translation for persons charged with crimes, and making sure citizens are not mistakenly deported). Because so many hundreds of thousands are in the country illegally, there may actually be a need for substantially greater funding in order to handle deportations without error.
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J.D.
Feb 16, 2009 3:48 PM CST
True, McLOED, but it’s actually MILLIONS of illegal aliens—about 12 million, give or take a million.
Unfortunately, the ABA’s open-border activism has created the very situation we have today. Perhaps if the ABA advocated secure borders, E-Verify in the workplace, and an end to illegal-alien benefits, then we’d have the resources to more carefully fix the situation.
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J.D.
Feb 16, 2009 6:22 PM CST
The ABA also wants to get rid of expedited removal. This would have a tremendous impact on our courts as literally thousands of new cases would appear overnight. And illegal aliens would be released onto our streets as they await trial… all with no background check to see if they are gang members or murders or drug traffickers.
While this is a move designed to give job security to everyone at AILA/MALDEF/LaRaza, it would seriously hurt legal residents of this country. The daily beheadings will move el Norte.
Thanks ABA! The Sinaloa cartel sends its love, I’m sure!
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B. McLeod
Feb 16, 2009 7:57 PM CST
Perhaps “al Norte”?
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