DOJ on ‘Potentially Misleading’ Statement on Deportation
April 3, 2012 Washington, DC
In the case Nken v. Holder, decided by the US Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roberts cited DOJ’s position that the government implements “policy and practice” to assist deported aliens in returning to the U.S. if they win their immigration appeal cases. Mona Shah & Associates (MSA) believes the “policy” cited by the DOJ is ambiguous and hard to apply.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, Democrat senator of Vermont, has asked the Department of Justice to clarify a “potentially misleading statement” government lawyers made to the Supreme Court in a 2009 immigration case. The senator asked whether such policy existed in 2009 and whether it exists today. Top Republican of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa also demanded clarification from the DOJ.
The attorneys filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain relevant government records. In February, U.S. Southern District Court in New York Judge Jed Rakoff, who reviewed government emails concerning the case and ordered portions of the emails released, stated that “substantial evidence that the judicial process may have been impugned” by incorrect information provided to the Supreme Court.
Although the Department of Homeland Security for the first time published a policy for “facilitating the return” of deported aliens who win immigration appeals, the DOJ document provides no guidance on how eligible aliens can obtain assistance, nor does it suggest the government would do anything “beyond stating that it might issue a boarding document for a flight and admit the alien to the United States.” So far no substantial answer has been provided by the DOJ. MSA believes it is important that the members of Judiciary Committee take initiatives to resolve such ambiguous application of immigration law.
Courtesy to Ms. Jess Bravin’s article from the Wall Street Journey Law Blog