As we have detailed before, Rosa was held in jail by ICE for nearly 18 months after leaving the country to bury her two adult sons in Mexico. Her continuous presence in the United States up until that time should have qualified her for relief from an immigration judge, but as we all know, immigration law is rarely applied fairly. After her release on her own recognizance at the first of the year, immigration officials tried to have her deported by charging her before a federal magistrate instead of an immigration judge, a move usually reserved for convicted felons.
"Rosa has never been convicted of a crime," Ralph Isenberg said. "This whole ordeal started when the Laredo office of ICE did not take into consideration her personal circumstances and the relief available to her under immigration law. She was put into a process she should have never been in. Immigration judges usually dismiss cases like Rosa's, and she should have been given a hearing before an immigration judge."
According to Isenberg, the "Section 38" process (named for the section of law used to deport felons) which sought a Stipulated Order of Return from a magistrate, violated the Fifth Amendment and her right to due process. "After our lawful presentation that ICE's actions were unlawful and prejudicial, the El Paso director of ICE granted our I-246 request. We are grateful that El Paso took her humanitarian concerns into consideration."
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The Isenberg Center for Immigration Empowerment (ICIE) is "a resort of last hope” for foreign nationals. People come to ICIE because the system has failed, and as a result, someone is facing a wrongful deportation. Since their founding in 2011, ICIE has helped hundreds of deserving families, and provides all services pro-bono. The organization deals with the entire family unit, from teaching the basic fundamentals behind community service, to English education, to individualized counseling to build positive mental health.
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