This article, from the Miami Herald, follows the story of a Salvadoran man who was mistakenly deported from the United States due to an oversight issue on the part of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The agency apparently missed out on some key evidence that differentiated the man ( who has temporary protective status as a refugee from an earthquake that occurred in El Salvador) from criminal aliens.
This issue, which seems to be increasingly common, is rousing anger from the immigrant community, since the changes in immigration reform they (and the rest of us) were expecting from the new administration have clearly not filtered down to the administrative level. It seems that the agencies charged with helping immigrants through the extremely complicated process of attaining residency and citizenship in the US are more interested in the enforcement (and punishment) side of the immigration issue.
This is an example of deeper problems within the policy structure of immigration and also another indication of how pressing the need for serious immigration reform is. Stories like this are embarrassing to the people of this country who do not advocate the far-right mentality of locking up our borders and persecuting those who try to make this country their home.
Read more at: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/5min/story/1338772.html
Mitra S.
