Deportation
Immigration is one of the principles our great nation was built on but at times it can bring in elements of crime and cause many economic and cultural problems from those that enter illegally. In these cases the process commonly known as deportation is employed to remove these undesirables from the country and limit or prohibit their entry in the future. Deportation is now called ‘removal’ under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA) and is the legal process of removing an alien from the United States. Any person that is not a United States citizen can be legally removed from the country through these proceedings.
The process of removing an alien starts with a notification served to the alien outlining their information such as name and date of birth, the grounds for removal and any other pertinent information. This notice is called a notice to appear or NTA and is also filed in court by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Once the NTA is served the details will be confirmed by a judge and understanding and accuracy of the information in the NTA is verified by the alien in court. If the judge deems that contents of the NTA are valid removal of the alien can be ordered. The courts do allow for contesting the removal process by filing an appeal with Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) within thirty days of the hearing decision and if need be can be contested in the U.S. Court of Appeals. The law also provides the ability for the court to appeal outcomes of the NTA hearing, but does not allow court to appeal decisions from the BIA.
If an NTA hearing is contested the alien has the right to produce evidence on their behalf or call any witness to aid in their defense. The presence of legal counsel is strongly suggested in any contested case but the alien can choose to move along without a lawyer if they choose. A person can be removed for a variety of reasons and the most common are criminal acts and illegal entry into the country. While these are the most common, an alien can also be removed for illegal voting, falsifying federal or state documents such as identification cards, fraudulent marriages for citizenship and assisting anyone else in gaining illegal entry into the country. While immigration is the backbone of our culture, without effective monitoring and removal methods those bringing the crime and corruption in would far outnumber the diverse, honest and hard working people that make our country so great.