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Editor's Comments of the Day
In
Jideonwo v. INS, No. 99-3243 (7th Cir. August 23, 2000), the Seventh Circuit concluded that the Board of Immigration Appeals
erred in finding that the Petitioner was ineligible to receive a sec.212(c) waiver. The court found that where specific facts
demonstrate that an alien pled guilty to an aggravated felony before the enactment of AEDPA and relied, at least in part,
on the availability of sec. 212(c) relief in making his decision to so plead, AEDPA's sec. 440(d) cannot be applied
retroactively to bar that alien from receiving a discretionary waiver under INA sec. 212(c). The case has been
remanded to the Immigration Judge for a determination on the 212(c) waiver. The decision is a sound one. A guilty
plea could never be made knowingly if the rules can change anytime after the plea is made.
Cases of the Day
Failure to Comply with Vienna Convention Does not Require Application of Exclusionary Rule
In US v. Chaparro-Alcantara, Nos. 99-2721 & 99-2874 (7th Cir. August 21, 2000), the court held that failure to inform foreign
nationals of their right under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention to contact their consulate does not require
an application of the exclusionary rule. The court also rejected the argument that deporting potentially favorable witnesses
required a dismissal of the indictment absent a showing of bad faith on the part of the government.
Waiver Still Available After AEDPA
In Jideonwo v. INS, No. 99-3243 (7th Cir. August 23, 2000), the Seventh Circuit concluded that the Board of Immigration Appeals
erred in finding that the Petitioner was ineligible to receive a sec.212(c) waiver. The court found that where specific facts
demonstrate that an alien pled guilty to an aggravated felony before the enactment of AEDPA and relied, at least in part,
on the availability of sec. 212(c) relief in making his decision to so plead, AEDPA's sec. 440(d) cannot be applied
retroactively to bar that alien from receiving a discretionary waiver under INA sec. 212(c).
Immigration News of the Day
Foreign Policy Plays Top Role in US Decisions on Refugees
An article on Postnet.com compares the US government's response to the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and the genocide in Rwanda.
Advocates for refugees conclude that the disparity arises because trends in US admissions of refugees and immigrants serve
foreign policy objectives and the patterns reflect racism in US foreign policy.
China's Migrants Find Europe's Open Back Door: The Balkans
The New York Times (registration required) reports that the Balkans has become the latest gateway to Western Europe for tens of
thousands of illegal immigrants from China, South Asia and Middle Eastern countries including Iran and Iraq. President
Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia, in particular, has opened the gates to thousands of Chinese intent on reaching Western Europe.
ILW.COM Highlights of the Day
See the Latest Processing Times
Read the latest Processing Times for all the Service Centers.
ILW.COM Chats and Discussions of the Day
Chat with Attorney Mitch Berenson
Mitch Berenson, Esq., will answer questions on all aspects of immigration law on Thursday, August 24, 2000, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern (New York) time. Questions will be accepted beginning 15 minutes prior to the chat.
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor,
Hawa Said, the woman whom Anthony Lewis wrote about last year in two separate opinion pieces in the New York Times, has been issued a United States passport by the United States Department of State. Last year, INS had sought to deport her to Yemen, where she was born, because INS alleged that she was an aggravated felon. Ms. Said's father, a US citizen, had naturalized when Ms. Said was under eighteen (18), but INS refused to recognize her claim to US citizenship. INS kept her in detention for months, shipped her to a detention facility thousands of miles away from her home and attorney, and only released her after an immigration judge granted her withholding of removal. Ms. Said was nine months pregnant at the time that she was released from INS detention, and had a baby shortly thereafter. The issuance of her passport hopefully ends any questions about her true citizenship.
Margaret D. Stock
Attorney
Stock & Moeller, LLC
Anchorage, AK
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