Lawyers sound alarm about new deportation tactic being used in Portland Immigration Court
"An increasing number of immigrants in Oregon have been receiving notices to appear at the Portland Immigration Court on short notice for `mega master' calendar hearings that bunch dozens of individuals together . . . . .
The practice appears to have first started in Oregon as early as February when dozens of Somali immigrants were asked to appear at the Portland court at the same time. Reports about the large hearings also began emerging in other states this spring, although lawyers say they appear to have become more frequent in Portland this summer.
Alicia Vial Beesley, an Oregon immigration attorney, said the federal government has targeted people who don’t have legal representation with the new practice, raising concerns that it could erode due process rights.
****
Two national legal groups, the National Immigration Project and National Immigrant Justice Center, have warned that the new tactic is designed to try to deport as many people as quickly as possible without giving them a fair chance to make their case . . . ."
