Hundreds Arrested in Southern California Immigration Sweep
by Michael J. Gurfinkel

According to the Los Angeles Times, Federal Agents have arrested over 175 aliens during a recent 5-day sweep in Orange County, which included people who had been previously ordered deported, but had remained in the United States. The operation, by a special immigration enforcement team, was one of the largest of its kind, and included fugitives who were already ordered deported, as well as those with criminal records. Some of the immigrants were turned in by the public, and even by family members.

Federal Agents also relied on a national database, which contained the names of fugitive illegal immigrants who had ignored their deportation orders. Immigration officials estimate that there are over 600,000 people in the United States who have ignored their deportation orders, and now immigration authorities hope to go after all of them, with over 61 enforcement teams operating throughout the U.S.

In the Los Angeles area alone, more than 1,600 people had been arrested in the last 9 months, most of whom were previously ordered deported. While most of those picked up were from Mexico, some of the aliens were from the Philippines.

There are many Filipinos who may already have deportation orders on their record. This could be the result of having filed for Political Asylum years ago, and after the Asylum was denied, they were put in deportation. Some, after receiving the deportation hearing notice, were too scared to show up in court, and were ordered deported in absentia (in their absence).

If you had been ordered deported (or were given “voluntary departure” and didn’t leave) that deportation order stays on your record and will affect your ability to later legalize your status. I know of one case where an alien had applied for Political Asylum, and later married a U.S. citizen. She simply forgot about the Asylum case, because the American had petitioned her, and she filed for adjustment of status through her husband’s petition. Imagine her shock at her interview, when the Immigration officer checked her record, and found that she had a deportation order that was entered against her many years ago. Even though she was married to the U.S. citizen, that deportation order effectively blocked her ability to get a green card. In fact, a person with an existing deportation order could literally be taken straight to the airport and put on the next plane back to the Philippines!

That is why it is important that if you have ever applied for any kind of immigration benefit in the past, you seek the advice of a reputable attorney, who can evaluate your case, determine if there are any deportation orders against you, and see if there are ways by which you can have your case “reopened”, such as where you never received the notice of the deportation hearing, it was sent to the wrong address, etc.

As you can see, Immigration is getting very tough on people with old deportation orders, and are tracking down those people and sending them back to their home countries.

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