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Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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Non-citizen Drug Offender in US Hopes to Avoid Deportation

by Carol Guensburg

Junior Andres Francisco admits he made a "terrible mistake," one so
costly that it landed him in federal prison for several years and left
his wife and three young children to struggle in his absence. But he's
terrified of one more possible consequence: being deported, perhaps as
soon as this week, to his native Dominican Republic. He fears it would
mean permanent separation from and irreparable harm to his family.

"I'm praying to God because I'm not ready for deportation. I came to
this country for them," Franscisco said in Spanish through an
interpreter, speaking from a federal Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, or ICE, detention facility in Farmville, Virginia.

Francisco, 37, moved to the United States in 2003 to join his wife
Mirtha - his high school sweetheart, also from the Caribbean country -
and their baby daughter in northern New Jersey. He became a legal
resident and, with his green card, found work as a truck driver
delivering meats. Mirtha obtained her U.S. citizenship, and the couple
had another daughter and a son.

However, Francisco fell into a depression, lost his job and made a bad
choice, he says. In 2011, he was convicted of cocaine trafficking and
sentenced to 51 months in prison.

Mass prison release

Last fall brought Francisco some good news - at least it initially
seemed that way. He was approved to be part of the mass release of
6,000 low-level, nonviolent drug traffickers, whose federal prison
terms were shortened through new, retroactive sentencing guidelines.
Each individual's case was reviewed - for considerations including
personal behavior and public safety - and each approved by a federal
judge. Most soon entered supervised release or other transitional
programs.

But almost a third were non-citizens, like Francisco, who immediately
were put into deportation proceedings, regardless of whether they were
in the United States legally. Of those, 763 initially received final
deportation orders and were quickly removed; ICE could not provide VOA
with outcomes for the rest.

A policy divide

Treating felons differently just because of citizenship status "points
to a schism" in federal policies, the American Civil Liberties Union
and 13 other rights groups [1]said in a letter last fall urging ICE
toward individualized due process and against hasty removal.

The U.S. Department of Justice, with bipartisan support from Congress,
[2]encouraged the drug sentencing reforms as part of a broader plan to
reduce incarceration and rehabilitate offenders. Advocates said those
reforms seem at odds with enforcement actions by [3]ICE, a law
enforcement agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Deportation cases are decided by judges in DOJ's Executive Office for
Immigration Review - "not Homeland Security, an important distinction,"
an ICE official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

These are "inherently conflicting messages from the criminal justice
system ... and our very unforgiving immigration system," said Avideh
Moussavian, an attorney for the California-based [4]National
Immigration Law Center. She reminded that every early-release prisoner
was deemed not to pose a security risk. "Thoughtful deliberation in
each of those decisions ... is at risk of being entirely disregarded by
ICE."

Also, non-citizen felons are "being punished twice for one wrong act,"
Moussavian said. "And for many people, it's a surprise punishment
because they didn't understand that they were going to be deported
[when they applied to have their sentences reconsidered]. These are
very different consequences than having, for example, a longer
sentence. It's permanent exile, for many people, from their family."

`Behavior should be above reproach'

Conservative backers of more stringent immigration policies support the
deportations.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the [5]Center for Immigration
Studies in Washington, said he could "see an argument for very minor
crimes not being deportable," but "the bar should be pretty low" for
removal. "As a general rule, a green card holder is a guest of the
United States, and as a guest his behavior should be above reproach."

Rarely are non-citizen offenders granted deportation relief. An
immigration court judge may take into account considerations such as a
grave illness, and decide to let an individual remain in the United
States. "Each case is individually reviewed," an ICE official told
VOA.

While even illegal U.S. residents have a right to appeal deportation,
that right vanishes for non-citizens with a criminal conviction. And
they have no right to legal counsel.

But the Washington-based [6]Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition
has taken up Francisco's case pro bono, asking that ICE drop its
prosecution and return him to his family "in the interest of justice,"
said Heidi Altman, the organization's legal director. It has done the
same for [7]Rodolfo Padilla, a Mexican national living in the United
States for more than 30 years, citing robust personal rehabilitation
and family hardship in each man's case.

Immigration court hearing

Meanwhile, Francisco is scheduled for a hearing Thursday morning in
Arlington Immigration Court in northern Virginia. He'll participate
from a video conferencing nook at ICE's [8]Farmville Detention Center,
his home since his late-October transfer from a federal prison in North
Carolina. The low-security facility - ringed with chain-link fences and
south-central Virginia's gentle hills - can hold at least 500
detainees.

"During my prison time, I follow the right path, sustained good conduct
and participate in several programs," Francisco wrote in a November 9
letter appealing for mercy from Judge Rodger C. Harris. He'd earned a
high school equivalency diploma, studied English and taken courses in
managing finances and stress. "My family, my children, need the guide
and care of a father. ..."

Francisco, sent to prison March 5, 2012, last saw his family almost a
year ago at the North Carolina prison.

Financial toll

His wife, who works in quality control for a New Jersey metal-parts
business, said he has discouraged his financially strapped family from
visiting him since then because it takes too much time and money.

"I don't have vacation. I work hard. He says, `You wait until I go out
of here,'" Mirtha said, explaining it takes at least seven hours to
drive from her home in northern New Jersey to the facility in
south-central Virginia. The facility permits visiting for one hour a
day. "It's not worth it."

But Francisco speaks to his wife and children almost every day by
phone. Mirtha said she puts $200 to $300 on his debit card monthly,
mostly for their short calls.

Mirtha and the children share a two-bedroom apartment with her mother,
who recently was injured in a car accident and had to stop working. The
family receives government subsidies for food and medical care - and
Francisco's return would reduce or eliminate that dependence, the CAIR
Coalition argues in its appeal.

A trucking job awaits him in New Jersey, Mirtha said.

As a young man in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, Francisco
maintained automatic teller machines for banks. If he were deported and
returned there, his criminal record would transfer with him, putting
that job - and many others - out of his reach, he said.

Challenges in Dominican Republic

Francisco's close friend since childhood also expressed hope he
wouldn't be sent back to their homeland.

"Economically, it's bad. Also, the criminality has gotten worse. I
don't know how he's going to help his family if he has to go back,"
said Carlos Maldonado, who periodically visits the island. A truck
driver too, Maldonado helps Francisco's family through social outings
and repairs, "but I've got my own family," he said, noting he's
married, with two children in college and one recent college graduate.

The U.S. State Department last year rated the [9]Dominican Republic's
crime level as "critical."

Francisco, though uneasy about continued separation from his family,
said he wouldn't ask his wife and children to move if he were deported.

"That would be selfish. The problem is not just taking them there, but
the system is in chaos. That would expose them" to dangers, Francisco
said.

Mirtha echoed her husband's concerns. Her children are Americans, with
better education options in the United States than in her homeland, she
said. "He understands that the kids need a better life, better
opportunities. They are U.S. citizens. They belong to this country. ...
They know their father loves them. They know their father made a
mistake. He's paying for it."

The CAIR Coalition maintains Francisco has paid sufficiently. Its final
point in the appeal is that "continued detention and removal of Mr.
Francisco undermines the authority of federal officials and goes
against public policy."

Francisco, his family and his lawyers are waiting for the government's
response.
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[10]http://www.voanews.com/content/noncitizen-drug-offender-in-us-hopes
-to-avoid-deportation/3215039.html

References

1. https://www.aclu.org/letter/sign-letter-ice-re-processing-immigrants-set-early-release-bop
2. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-urges-us-sentencing-commission-make-certain-individuals-incarcerated-drug
3. https://www.ice.gov/about
4. https://www.nilc.org/
5. http://www.cis.org/
6. http://www.caircoalition.org/
7. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/mexican-prisoner-awaits-deportation-to-country-he-can-barely-remember/2015/12/05/2ec49428-9934-11e5-94f0-9eeaff906ef3_story.html
8. http://ica-farmville.com/welcome.html
9. https://www.osac.gov/pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=17330
10. http://www.voanews.com/content/noncitizen-drug-offender-in-us-hopes-to-avoid-deportation/3215039.html