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I.N.S. TO REPORT DEPORTEES TO F.B.I.
by Michael J. Gurfinkel, Esq.
In a recent article in the Los Angeles Times,
it was reported that the Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS) will submit a list of some 314,000 persons who have "disappeared"
to avoid being deported. Under the new policy, the LA Times reported,
the INS will relay the names of these missing deportees or abscondees
to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), a criminal database
maintained by the FBI and frequently consulted by the police.
This means that people who have been ordered deported
(but never left the U.S.) could be caught and detained during
routine traffic stops or even minor brushes with the law, INS
Commissioner James Ziglar warned. "If you don't want to be
one of the guests in a detention center while we're getting your
documents together, you might just want to go home," he advised
deportees.
The INS has been under constant scrutiny since the
September 11 terrorist attacks after it was established that all
the 19 suspects in the attacks entered the United States legally,
with two of them having overstayed and the third having violated
the terms of his visa. The INS's failure to locate and remove
the 314,100 missing deportees has been one of the criticisms hurled
against the INS since September 11.
If in the past, these deportees have eluded law
enforcement authorities, it may not be as easy once the list of
names is submitted, because the names will be available in all
police computers, including those inside police patrol cars and
on police motorcycles.
There are many people who were ordered deported
in absentia (in their absence) and may not even realize that there
is a deportation order on their record. For example, a person
may have applied for political asylum years ago and moved many
times. The INS may have sent interview notices and orders to show
cause (OSC) or notices to appear (NTA) to the alien's old address,
requiring the person to appear for interview or court hearing
on a specific date. Because the person moved so many times, he
may not have ever received notice of the deportation hearing.
As a result, the deportation proceeding went forward, the alien
did not appear (because he never got notice of the hearing), and
the Judge ordered him deported. Now, with INS' new policy, that
person's name will be turned over to the FBI, and his name will
appear in the criminal database maintained by the FBI.
However, there was a recent BIA decision allowing
some people, in limited situations, to have their deportation
case reopened if the alien was not properly served the deportation
papers. If you were ordered deported in your absence, but never
received notice of your hearing, you should immediately consult
with a reputable attorney, who can analyze your situation, and
determine if there are sufficient bases to have your case reopened
and/or other ways for you to obtain a green card. This way, you
can get your name off that FBI database, and finally be able to
"live free" in America.
Remember, after September 11, it is all the more
important that aliens with immigration problems have a lawyer
to be there to protect the alien's rights and interests.
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