Judge Michael Bennett: using false identity results in no deportation order

Posted Sat, Aug 25, 2007 at 10:08 am
I'm sure there are hundreds or thousands of U.S. citizens in prisons for purchasing birth certificates of those who died as children, assuming their identities, and then obtaining other identity documents such as SSN cards and passports. However, I guess there were "mitigating circumstances" in this case:
[U.S. Immigration Judge Michael Bennett] on Friday allowed a prominent Portland-area union organizer and illegal immigrant to return to Mexico voluntarily instead of deporting him, calling his repeated use of a false identity "unfortunate" and a "tragedy."

...Assistant Chief Counsel Margaret Rosenast of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had asked for a removal order, commonly called deportation. Removal orders prohibit people from legally returning to the United States for a period of a few years to a lifetime, said Dorothy Stefan, chief counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Seattle office, which includes Oregon.

...Cobian entered the United States illegally in 1989. He later purchased the birth certificate of Jose Luis Mendoza, a California boy who had died as a child, and assumed the little boy's name. In 1996, he used the name to apply for a Social Security card and later used the false identity to obtain a U.S. passport as well as legal residency status for his wife, also a Mexican immigrant. His wife was unaware that her status was based on fraudulent documents.

...The judge made it clear that Cobian's crimes -- especially his use of a false identity to obtain legal residency status for his wife -- were serious. He said deportation would have been the expected outcome.

But he said that he had the legal ability to exercise his discretion in the case and had decided to do so, describing the decision as a "close call." The judge said he wanted to bring finality to the case.

"I do wish you the best, sir," Bennett told Cobian.
Perhaps a reporter should look into the other "close calls" that judge has made, and also look into what usually happens to U.S. citizens who do the same thing.

Tags: 
department of homeland security

Comments

Unhyphenated Am... (not verified)

Sun, 08/26/2007 - 02:49

We all know what is going on here. By not deporting the criminal alien, the judge left open a possible future return to America. If the judge had deported the criminal alien, he would not be able to reenter the US for say 10 years. Typical judge, talk a hard line, but deliver little.

Kevin Bove (not verified)

Sun, 08/26/2007 - 04:38

Because he was "unlawfully present" in the United States for more than one year, the alien is inadmissible to the United States for 10 years (no waiver available) under section 212(a)(9)(C) of the Immigration & Nationality Act. The voluntary departure order allows the alien to avoid criminal prosecution for illegal re-entry after removal (but criminal prosecution would be unlikely in this type of case even if the alien had been ordered removed. If the alien re-enters the United States illegally after departing voluntarily under an order issued in removal proceedings, the removal order can be reinstated and the alien removed from the United States without hearing or appeal rights. Some immigration lawyers argue that a voluntary departure order cannot be reinstated but I believe section 241(a)(5) of the INA clearly allows this. The $10,000 question is this one: After the alien voluntarily departe, is the Department of Homeland Security (ICE) authorized to, two or three months later, check the alien's former residence and employer, to see whether the alien has not returned to the United States? Is full-fledged probable cause required? Could the agency not implement a policy to check the former residences and employers of all voluntary departed and removed aliens, thereby making it harder for the aliens to live and work illegally in the United States?