Suit says feds using immigration marriage interviews as trap
Source: Associated Press
Suit says feds using immigration marriage interviews as trap
By REGINA GARCIA CANO
October 8, 2019
BALTIMORE (AP) — Alyse and Elmer Sanchez were thrilled when they survived their “green card” interview, a crucial step in obtaining lawful status in the United States. She texted her family from the immigration office as relief washed over her: The officer had agreed that their marriage is legitimate.
Moments later, Elmer was in shackles, detained pending deportation to his native Honduras, leaving her alone with their two little boys.
“We feel it was a trap, a trick, to get us there,” Alyse said.
The Sanchezes have joined five other couples in a class action accusing federal agents of luring families to marriage interviews in Baltimore, only to detain the immigrant spouse for deportation.
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The Maryland case is assigned to U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel, who already reversed the deportation of a Chinese man detained after a successful marriage interview in Baltimore. Ruling just before Wanrong Lin landed in Shanghai last November, Hazel said the government can’t use the process “as a honeypot to trap undocumented immigrants who seek to take advantage of its protections.”
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Read more: https://apnews.com/6fe1860120384048939de1b830ab197f
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