Friend facing deportation

[juggles]

It's probably premature for me to post anything about this since I only just heard about it and I don't have all the facts but I kind of need to get it out there.
I've been told that a friend and co-worker from Louisville is sitting in a prison in Illinois awaiting deportation. He's French but he has permanent resident status and has lived in the States for ten or twelve years. He was in Canada recently and was stopped at the border. About five years ago, he had a DUI. He served his time and has been careful to keep his nose clean ever since. Apparently, this is what it's over. Why it wasn't worth deporting him then but it is now is completely beyond me. It's part of this Patriot Act bullshit.
I'm still trying to find out the details. I may be organizing a petition or letter writing campaign. I may contact the ACLU also. Someone else may already have put these things in motion.
Just needed to vent, I guess. More as I find out.

[DoRabbitsWonder]

So he got the DUI and didn't get deported. Why are they deciding to deport him now? I'm not sure I understand the laws regarding what you have to do to get deported, can anyone enlighten me?

[the happy prole]

That's weird. I remember back about 5 or 10 years ago there was a whole debate over this issue. It hinged on whether or not DUI's could be considered violent felonies and the Courts were split.

It was part of a policy by INS to deport drivers with 3 or more DUI's and even then they backed off enforcing it because it was so controversial.

So having this happen for just 1 DUI is very unusual. Hopefully he has a good attorney-- it sounds like he has a pretty good case.

[Smoker29]

Knowing INS, they're just now catching up to his paperwork. :rolleyes:

[teribl sob stry]

would it help if i offered to marry him? :p

seriously though, that sucks. i hope everything works out for him..please keep us posted.

[juggles]

So he got the DUI and didn't get deported. Why are they deciding to deport him now? I'm not sure I understand the laws regarding what you have to do to get deported, can anyone enlighten me?

It doesn't make any sense to me either. Like I said, I'm still trying to find out what's going on. This isn't a guy I hang out with every weekend but we've worked together off and on for eight years or so. He's a fixture in the local film business and it's a very social business so we go to the same parties and hang out with the same people. I've been to his house several times. I don't know all the details of his DUI. I don't mean to make light of it. He was involved in a serious accident that left him in the hospital and his then-girlfriend in a coma, although I'm pretty sure she's OK now.
Everything changed with the Patriot Act, I guess and it seems that the INS feels that they can retroactively go after people for whatever they feel like. This is a guy in his forties who runs a small business, just formed a partnership with another Louisville filmmaker -- not a threat to national security, not an undesirable in any way.

[markalot]

I don't mean to make light of it. He was involved in a serious accident that left him in the hospital and his then-girlfriend in a coma, although I'm pretty sure she's OK now.

Um, was this what resulted in the DUI?

I'm not sure he has a leg to stand on, especially if he lost one in an accident caused because he was drinking and driving.

[juggles]

Um, was this what resulted in the DUI?

I'm not sure he has a leg to stand on, especially if he lost one in an accident caused because he was drinking and driving.

Yes, this is what resulted from the DUI. Let me be clear. I have no intention of defending him for drinking and driving. He's damn lucky no one, including himself, was killed. I'm pretty sure he knows that too. But that happened years ago. I would understand if he was subject to deportation then. But why now? As far as I know, he did everything he was supposed to do following the DUI to be allowed to stay. This seems awfully close to double jeopardy.

But again, everything I've heard is second or third hand. There may be significant peices to this I don't yet know.

[frizgolf]

He's a fixture in the local film business and it's a very social business so we go to the same parties and hang out with the same people.
Sounds a little like modern day McCarthyism here...
Could he be getting judged on what films he's involved with?

[akip]

seems like part of this story is missing.

[Sushi]

seems like part of this story is missing.
Yes. (You can tell part of the story is missing when you hear the guy's girlfriend was in a coma and all you can think of is The Smiths).

Seriously--deportation? He's French. Usually, the INS is pretty lenient with folks from Western Europe. (My ex was Dutch. I had a lot of dealings with the INS in the mid-90s.)

[DaHood]

But why now?

Because he is not an American citizen and has no rights as one. It's as simple as that. His residence here is subject to the will of those who ALLOW him to stay here. They don't need a reason to throw him out.

It may suck, but it's the way it is.

[markalot]

Yes, this is what resulted from the DUI. Let me be clear. I have no intention of defending him for drinking and driving. He's damn lucky no one, including himself, was killed. I'm pretty sure he knows that too. But that happened years ago. I would understand if he was subject to deportation then. But why now? As far as I know, he did everything he was supposed to do following the DUI to be allowed to stay. This seems awfully close to double jeopardy.

But again, everything I've heard is second or third hand. There may be significant peices to this I don't yet know.

Wel, i'm not going to defend the patriot act because I don't like it, but it could be that they are cleaning up the backlog of people deemed not fit to live here. Someone who comes over and gets a dui and almost kills someone might fit that description. It could also be that his girlfriend died or perhaps is the one that lodged a complaint?

Who knows.

[juggles]

I knew I should have held off on posting this. I can't answer many of your questions. What I can say is that he was in Canada briefly on business and it would be very unlike him to leave the country if he had any reason to think returning would be a problem. I'm fairly certain he's been out of the U.S. since his DUI previously with no problems.
But I'll try to lay low on this until I know more.

[the happy prole]

I am guessing his name was thrown on a list somewhere after the DUI, and when he came back from Canada it popped up again on someone's computer.

If he's being held under the Patriot Act, then they can pretty much do whatever they want without telling him... but I doubt it's that's the case. If it's just a "regular" deportation he has the right to an administrative hearing and several levels of appeals.

[juggles]

I am guessing his name was thrown on a list somewhere after the DUI, and when he came back from Canada it popped up again on someone's computer.

If he's being held under the Patriot Act, then they can pretty much do whatever they want without telling him... but I doubt it's that's the case. If it's just a "regular" deportation he has the right to an administrative hearing and several levels of appeals.

This take on things sounds pretty close to what seems to be going on, from what little I've been able to gather. It seems like it should have been easy to clear up though. I know he's had some sort of hearing at which his lawyer was told to "shut up" and from which he was lead cuffed at the hands and ankles in an orange jumpsuit with a group of illegal immigrants. The guy fucked up big a few years back but he's done what he was supposed to to make amends. I don't know why he's having to go through this bullshit now. I'm hoping that at the next hearing or appeal or whatever, they'll get it straightened out. It's very, very scary though.

[DaHood]

The INS came knocking on my mom and dad's door last year. My dad answered the door, and they asked him if his name was ____ ____ He said "Yes" then he called my mom and said "hey come here, we're being raided" he was laughing about it. The two agents got a strange look on their face as they got a better look at my dad as he opened the door to invite them in. They realized that he was not who they were looking for when they saw him. They told him the guy they were looking for had only one hand.

After they confirmed that my dad was the wrong person, my dad saw more agents come out of hiding. There were several and they were ready for some serious business.

The person in question is a Mexican National and they were looking for him because he was guilty of a crime. They were going to deport him. My dad was a natural born citizen of the US and was just unlucky enough to have the same name. They fucked up. It's kinda scary, but I think the INS was just doing their job, even if not very well.

I don't like the patriot act, but I don't claim to know everything about it. I just hope that these people take caution in what they do. They might have locked my dad up for something that another person had done.

After my mom told my sister about the story, she told some people she works with about it. One said "I know that guy! He works with my husband." This is in a town about 60 miles away. Strange how things happen like that. I never heard if they got this guy or not.

[BigSugar]

He can be held with or without bond, and i guarantee you that the nature of the offense (severe physical injury to a third party) is the nature of the deportation issue. A straight DUI will never lead to deportation, but if you hurt someone, it's a violent crime and subject to immediate arrest and deportation. Domestic Violence charges will lead to the same result. Generally, a misdemeanor will not lead to deportation, but a felony will lead to at least a hearing, and if you get more than 365 days in jail for your crime, it's pretty much an automatic deport.

just some thoughts. his attorney will know what to do. I wonder if they're force feeding him "freedom fries" in jail and making him drink "Sparkling Wine"?

[juggles]

He can be held with or without bond, and i guarantee you that the nature of the offense (severe physical injury to a third party) is the nature of the deportation issue. A straight DUI will never lead to deportation, but if you hurt someone, it's a violent crime and subject to immediate arrest and deportation. Domestic Violence charges will lead to the same result. Generally, a misdemeanor will not lead to deportation, but a felony will lead to at least a hearing, and if you get more than 365 days in jail for your crime, it's pretty much an automatic deport.

just some thoughts. his attorney will know what to do. I wonder if they're force feeding him "freedom fries" in jail and making him drink "Sparkling Wine"?

Since you seem to know something about all of this, can you explain why this is being revisited several years after the DUI happened? As far as I know, there aren't any new charges. This is what makes no sense to me.

[Smoker29]

I could be way off base, so let me make it clear that I'm speculating:

The INS is seriously backlogged and notoriously unorganized. An article came out a few years ago about an INS office that was so backlogged, that they started shredding everything to get rid of some work and got caught. Somebody burned for that one I'm sure.

Running his name through a computer on the way back into the USA may have tripped something that had long been forgotten or like I said earlier, they may have just now caught up with him?

[BigSugar]

Smoker hit the nail on the head. INS (now called "ICE: Immigration Control and Enforcement) probably had him on a list of people to deal with, but his exit and re-entry triggered a computer program to say "stop him". same kind of thing with a traffic ticket you don't pay....you may not get stopped again for years, but when you do, the computer says "warrant for arrest" and you go to jail until it's straightened out. He should count his lucky stars that the prosecutor in his DUI case didn't get more involved and call ICE officers to his sentencing. it's been done before.

i've got multiple issues with ICE right now for criminal defendants...they're swamped from what the agents are saying.

[Orville Wrong]

ICE is on the warpath partly because of their well-publicized visa-renewal reminder letters sent out to Muhammed Atta and other 9/11 hijackers in October 2001.

[juggles]

Read all about it (http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/12803581.htm)

[markalot]

He served out his probation, which included a 90-day jail term last year for violating its terms.

I keep reading these gotcha's.

Had this accident happened in France what would the penalty be, anyone know?

[juggles]

For the link impaired:

U.S. wants to deport French filmmaker

HAD DONE PROBATION FOR DUI CONVICTION

ASSOCIATED PRESS


LOUISVILLE - A French citizen who has made a living in Kentucky as a filmmaker is facing deportation after he was detained for a 6-year-old DUI conviction that resulted in a traffic wreck.

Marcel Cabrera was returning to the United States on July 7 from Canada when he was stopped by federal agents who checked his criminal record, found his conviction and took him into custody.

The crash occurred when Cabrera, an artist and filmmaker who moved to Louisville in 1989, lost control of his Jeep on a curvy road after he had been drinking. The wreck severely injured his then-girlfriend, a passenger.

Cabrera nursed her back to health and pleaded guilty to DUI, wanton endangerment and assault.

He served out his probation, which included a 90-day jail term last year for violating its terms.

"I paid my dues," said Cabrera, 48. "I thought I was in the clear."

He has been held without bail since Aug. 17 at a maximum-security jail in Illinois. The government is trying to deport him under a law that allows immigrants who are not naturalized citizens to be removed for violent offenses.

Cabrera, who is living in the United States on a green card, said he has served his time for the crime, which he and supporters say was an accident and not a violent offense.

"I had alcohol in my blood, but I didn't try to kill my passenger -- it was an accident," Cabrera said in a phone interview from jail with The Courier-Journal of Louisville last week.

He is scheduled to appear Oct. 25 before an immigration judge in Chicago.

His friends say it would be unjust to deport Cabrera, given the nature of his crime, the fact he's served his sentence and his filmmaking contributions.

Cabrera's lawyer, Dan Owens, says deportation should be reserved for more deliberate acts -- "like hitting somebody over the head with a baseball bat."

Twenty supporters have written to the immigration court on his behalf, including the woman injured in his DUI crash, Ann Harpole.

Even the president of the Louisville chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Carolyn Scharf, has said Cabrera shouldn't be deported. Scharf said that, although she is convinced that drunken driving is a violent crime, "I personally feel the government is going too far in deporting somebody for it."

Cabrera owns a movie lighting business and has shot commercials and feature films, including Assisted Living.

The 1996 immigration law under which he could be deported allows non-naturalized citizens to be removed years after their crimes, no matter how long they have lived in this country, for violent crimes that are considered aggravated felonies.

According to court records, Cabrera was driving about 50 mph when he crashed and critically injured Harpole, then 49. In a letter urging probation, she later described it as an "isolated" incident and said Cabrera was "the best possible nurse" and "a kind and gentle person."

After Cabrera pleaded guilty, a judge issued a seven-year sentence but placed him on probation for five years instead of sending him to prison.

[Vodka-7]

It's an unfortunate situation for everyone involved, I'm sure, and can only serve to emphasize the importance of vigilantly obeying the laws of country in which you reside as a guest.

[juggles]

I'm a little late to the party with this, but some good news at last:

Posted on Sat, Nov. 05, 2005






Louisville filmmaker freed from immigration custody

Associated Press


LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A Louisville filmmaker who spent three months in prison facing deportation to France has been freed.

A Chicago immigration judge ruled that Marcel Cabrera, 48, had already been punished for a 6-year-old drunken driving crash in which his then-girlfriend was seriously injured.

Immigration Judge George Katsivalis rejected the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency's attempt to deport Cabrera, ruling that his crime was not an intentional violent act.

"I am so happy. I am just staring at the sky," Cabrera said Friday by phone from outside Chicago.

Cabrera had been detained without bail since Aug. 17, after being stopped entering the United States from Canada. Katsivalis released him on a parole status, pending the government's decision on whether to appeal, said Dan Owens, his attorney.

The agency would not comment on the ruling, but must make a decision about an appeal within 30 days, said Carl Rusnok, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Ann Harpole, the former girlfriend hurt in the crash, was among 20 supporters who wrote to the judge on Cabrera's behalf. She said he had nursed her back to health after the accident.

"I feel like he had already paid his debt. ... He's a good citizen, father, homeowner, business owner -- a good person," Harpole said.

Cabrera, who has a 16-year-old daughter in Louisville, said he was "so thankful" to friends and family who supported him, and he felt no bitterness about the incident. Cabrera said he hoped to stop at restaurant with his fiance, filmmaker Robin Burke, and have a "good steak, and no rice and beans."

"Getting out is kind of stunning to me," Cabrera said. "I think I am going to have a good dinner and get to bed."

Cabrera had been held without bail at a maximum-security jail in Ullin, Ill. The government cited a 1996 law allowing immigrants who are not naturalized citizens to be removed for violent offenses, no matter how long they have lived here, if their crimes are considered aggravated felonies.

Cabrera, a director of photography in several award-winning films who moved to Louisville in 1989, described the 1999 DUI accident as a "tragic mistake." He lost control of his Jeep Wagoneer and severely injured Harpole, who was a passenger.

Cabrera pleaded guilty to DUI, wanton endangerment and assault. He served out his probation, which included a 90-day jail term last year for violating its terms.

Cabrera was returning to the United States from Canada in July when he was stopped by federal agents, who found his conviction and took him into custody.

[deuce]

Think about how this experience is going to affect this guy's career! What an ordeal!