Immigrant Rights Debate

" Well illegal immigration back in the spotlight this week now that the Obama administration is taking steps to reverse the Bush Administration ruling. They -- immigrants the right to reopen cases they lost because of mistakes their lawyers may. Joining us now -- and Wasserstein -- founding partner at the immigration law group. And and that -- what's you public policy while -- was -- reverse the policy."

" Twenty years has been that if an immigrant improve and that they -- deportation order was due solely to the lawyer ever. And then the right to reopen their case and have a judge -- the -- and by no means was this an automatic do over. That this had been established legal. Presence for twenty years the Bush Administration is final days in order rescinded this longstanding rule and now the Obama ministries is simply re establishing a little fairness to this type of case."

" All right so Dan what problems -- have what that is that the fact that it would establish some type of constitutional rights for immigrants during that deportation hearings what's your beaten."

" Well that Obama President Obama campaign on a platform he was going to demonstrate to the American people. That immigration law was being -- that the deportation process was actually working again. Eric Eric holders made this decision no analysis of any kind of how allowing aliens to reopen. Case because of ineffective assistance of counsel Shannon aliens do not have a constitutional right to an attorney in a deportation proceeding because it is civil. It is -- it is not a criminal proceeding now the ACLU and the immigration bar. They want every deportation proceeding to be -- basically a criminal trial and become so cumbersome procedurally. Burdensome and expensive it's really impossible to -- for effectively with twelve million illegal aliens here deport people so what the Bush Administration basically did was say. -- you claim ineffective assistance of counsel to an attorney -- never had a right to in the first place. Many aliens are represented and you are not represented in deportation proceedings. Back in May basically make that same motion and and in this case Eric Holder specifically ignored the fact that there's no constitutional right in his decision. He did mention that -- his decision as to what we're gonna do is go back to the status quo. And indeed we have chaos delay fraud written deportation delays. There needs to be an assessment of how allowing this motion to reopen will affect fraud delay and hamstring this system before it goes forward."

" Let me get got a chance to respond there -- things -- come from I'm actually at the Supreme Court and the federal courts the past twenty years have been very firm in that immigrants in deportation proceedings. Have a Fifth Amendment right to due process so there's been quite enormous amount of an analysis done over the past twenty years through the court system seven -- seven of appeals courts of appeal agreed that hasn't the Supreme Court. -- me say this this is simply an assertion of fairness into the system. This is not a do over these people don't get to say here. The only people who really benefit from this of those people that would have been able stay here had it not been for their attorneys -- so I think we can all agree that a mother should be separated from your assistant child which is pretty much permanent undo an attorney failing to file some paperwork or missing a deadline. There there has been enormous amount Nelson has been done to the courts and I think this is just another example of pres Obama showing that he's gonna make our immigration system more fair. More functional. So this is simply an issue of fairness this is not gonna create any sort of."

" and everybody wants fairness and every proceeding the US government administers but. The ACLU has a track record for thirty years of challenging every effort to administer enforce the laws in the interior of this country they do not want immigration law enforced in the interior. Every phase at every level of the enforcement process including deportation -- immediately attacked the procedure this is in our opinion. An effort to continue to hamstring the process there needs to be in a valuation. -- about some kind of a cost benefit analysis to determine how burdensome it is to allow these long term motions to reopen. -- to go on that's why Obama's and is still in the country this systems -- it doesn't work."

" dance -- Wasserstein we thank you very much for your time today and a great debate gentleman. Look."