Chaos 75 Miles from the Border

On arriving at my office on Monday, December 28, 2009, I was informed that one of my clients and her family were being detained by CBP Officers at an inland checkpoint.  I immediately called her on her cell phone, and spent the rest of the day in an effort to explain to the CBP that both my client and her family were legally present in the U.S. and should immediately be released from custody.  Below is the story as told by my client.  I hope this will inspire the CBP to better train its officers, to treat immigrants with respect and to open the lines of communication with immigration attorneys:    

I am a Registered Nurse who has a pending application for adjustment of status for permanent residency in the U.S. I have been working in El Centro Regional Medical Center which sponsored me over 2 years ago. My family and I reside in El Centro, CA, a small city near the border of Mexico. It is very common for us to be checked by the Border Patrol when we go out of town, because anywhere we go there is a checkpoint. One checkpoint is located to the East if we are going towards Yuma, AZ, one is to the West if we are going to San Diego, CA, and another one is located in Indio, CA, if we are heading North.

As far as I know, you need to present a valid identification document if you are asked to prove that you are legally allowed by the U.S. Immigration Service to stay in the U.S. We had been in and out of our town several times and there has never been a single problem that we encountered when being checked by a Border Patrol agent as part of the routine inspection process.

On December 28, 2009, my family planned to go to Palm Springs, CA, to celebrate my husband’s birthday. We were all excited, especially my kids. We woke up early and headed towards Highway 86. We were very much aware that we were going to pass the checkpoint at Indio, CA. We carried our identification documents with us.

Around 8:30 am, we were checked, and sure enough, we were asked for our identification. We showed our EAD cards (for me and my husband) and Philippine passports for my 2 sons. The lady officer asked for some more documents and we showed papers from immigration that we had a pending adjustment of status for permanent residency. They instructed us to park on the side of the road, because they said that they still need to make some phone calls and check on their computer to verify something.

We were wondering why at this time, it took them quite a while to check whatever they needed to verify about our status. We saw the lady border officer approaching our car and, we were hoping that she would let us proceed on our family trip. Instead, she said that our kids were illegally staying in the US because they had an expired I-94s. My husband tried to explain that we all had  pending applications for adjustment of status for permanent residency, so the I-94s had nothing to do with our status right now. The lady officer insisted that we were all wrong, and that whoever we got that information from doesn’t know anything. She emphasized that what she stated was correct because this was her job. She informed us that we could renew our I-94s at the nearest US border office for $6.00 each.

Another officer approached us and said he would need to check his computer. So, we waited again inside our car.

At that time, I knew I needed help because this was not the usual type of check that we had encountered before. There was something wrong going on.

I called my lawyer’s office and told the person who answered the phone the problem. She said to let the border officer check everything and not to worry because we had our legal documents and everything was good. She also said that Carl Shusterman would be in his office soon and that she would inform him about our situation.

While still on the phone, the lady officer approached us and said that I was not allowed to use my phone. I told her that I was merely asking my lawyer for help, but she insisted that I not make any calls.

After a while, the border officer who said he needed to do more checking came back. He said that the computer showed that our kids has overstayed their visas. He even questioned us as to why we sent them to school. He said that it was illegal for them to go to school without student visas. He also said that we coud be charged with smuggling, and that our car could be taken away from us. The situation was getting worse, and the more me and my husband tried to explain, the more they got irritated. I informed them that it would be better if they spoke with my lawyer and that way he could explain more because he knows about our status. The lady officer replied that our lawyer doesn’t know more about immigration legalities than they do. She also commented in an irritated voice that we were facing deportation for illegally staying in the US with expired I-94s. She wanted us to cooperate and do everything they wanted us to do for our benefit in order to ease the process.

I was so confused as well as my husband because we could not believe what was going on at that time. It seemed that the border officers did not understand and did not know what they were doing. They were accusing us for nothing since we had done nothing wrong.

I received a phone call from Carl Shusterman, and told him everything that was going on. A lady officer approached us again in our vehicle and said that I really don’t understand that I am not allowed to use my phone. I informed her again that I was talking with my lawyer. I asked her if she could speak with him and I also told her that he could send them papers they needed to prove that we were not illegally staying in the US. She refused, and said they had their own system of checking which they can verify by themselves. She said that they were certain that we were all illegal, and then she left.

At around 11:00 am, 3 border officers approached our vehicle and they instructed us to step out from our car because we were being arrested for illegally staying in the US. I grabbed my phone again and tried to call back my lawyer. I was so hesitant to step out from our car. The lady officer said not to use my phone, but I told her that I just needed to inform my lawyer what was happening at that moment. My husband said that we had to follow their orders and just do whatever they wanted us to do and not to create any further problems. So, we all got out from our car, while I was still trying to get hold of our lawyer over the phone. I asked the lady officer to give me a few seconds to talk to my lawyer, but she was so aggressive and even tried to push me to move faster inside the detention area. One of the officers said that our lawyer would not be helpful and that usually they do not know about immigration, and that they only want our money.

According to my lawyer’s advise, we had to follow the procedure they wanted us to do and call him back afterwards.

Inside the detention area, more questions were asked, we were fingerprinted, and our pictures were taken. They had us sign papers. They called the Philippine consulate for us to talk, but they just left a message because they said there was no one available at that time.
They informed us as follows:

a) We were illegally staying in the US with expired I-94s.

b) It was illegal for us to apply for an adjustment of status for permanent residency being B1/B2 visaholders when we came here. They said that our lawyer should know this.

c) Illegal for letting our kids go to school in the US without proper visas. They informed us that we should have applied for student visas for our kids.

d) Smuggling for owning a car in America.

e) Illegally working in US, we should be carrying an H1C visa to be able to work in the US.

f) Even though we had our EADs, we were illegally in the US because we didn't have  valid visas.

g) Although we had "pending" applications for adjustment of status, there was no approval yet, so they said that we should be out of the country, and wait for the decision in the Philippines.

From all of these accusations they were telling us, it is clear that these Border Officers did not have any knowledge at all. Yet, they were trying to be smart and act like they knew everything.

They keep on telling us that our lawyer did not know the legalities of immigration, and that we had been informed incorrectly about our status.

We still managed to be patient and cooperate with them. They let our friend take our car instead of towing it. They informed us that we would be staying overnight in the detention area and would be transported to San Diego the following morning to go to a hearing before an Immigration Judge.

I asked them if I could make a phone call, because it was nearly 5:00 pm and I knew the offices would be closed soon and I might not be able to speak with my lawyer anymore. However, they did not allow us to make any phone calls because they said they still finishing some paperwork.

My husband and I kept ourselves calmed and composed, and were very respectful when dealing with the officers.

Since we couldn't make any phone calls to reach for help even from our relatives in the US, I never had a wasted moment, because I kept on praying and told my sons that we should be praying for a miracle and let our Lord work to show His love and care for us.

We never ate our meals the whole day, but they were kind enough to give us crackers, juice (with an expiration date of 08/11/09) and water to drink from a dirty water jug. We needed to use our empty juice plastic container so we could drink the water as instructed by one of the border officers.

They let us stay inside the detention room together as a family, for which we were very thankful, but the room was not kept clean.

I told myself that we didn’t deserve being in this kind of situation and what was happening was not real. We were comforting our sons and asked them to be patient, and told them that it would be over soon.

At around 6:00 pm, an officer named Supervisor Gonzales asked my husband to step out from the detention room. He talked to my husband and said he just spoke to our lawyer. Our lawyer sent documents via fax and proved that all our papers were legitimate. When my husband returned inside the detention room, he told us that we were free to go.

I can’t explain what I felt at that moment. I was so relieved from the stress of the day, I was so happy, but was so exhausted and mad. I wanted to say something bad and curse all those Border Officers who apprehended us, degraded us and did not gave us a chance to prove that we did not do anything illegal at all. Instead, I just cried and hugged my husband and sons.

While we were waiting for our friend to pick us up, it was already 7:00 pm at that time, my phone rung and it was Carl Shusterman, our lawyer. I am so very thankful that he really worked hard all day to help us. I have never met him personally and had never spoken to him before. On that day that we were having a problem, I spoke to him for the first time and I felt his sincerity. No words were enough to thank our lawyer and all his staff. I am wishing more power to our lawyer and his office.

Looking back over and over again, if only the border officers agreed to talk to our lawyer and had allowed him to send all the documents they needed to verify our status from the very start of the event, there would never have been such a waste of time and a spoiled day for all of us especially on my husband’s birthday.

We witnessed how those Border officers worked hard doing their paperwork, although it turned out to be useless, nonsense and a waste of trees. All this paperwork will be shredded according to Supervisor Officer Gonzales, and all the information from the computer will be deleted. I hope they will do this after all.

To all the Border Officers working on that day at Indio, California, R Kearney, K Christoff, B Patterson, M Rucker, K Shurtleff and all the officers I can’t recall their names, I hope you had an experience that you will never forget and that you will learn from your mistakes.

I hope that in the future, the government will assign Border Officers who have knowledge of our immigration laws and who will be humanitarian enough to treat all individuals as equal.

Comments

[Vijay]

Sad to see that such a treatment happened to a nurse. Imagine what must be happening to people with limited english skills and who inspite of being legally in the country, would face intimidation and mistreatment at the hands of the border patrol.

[Gopal Panday]

This is not an isolated event. This happens each and every day all across on our borders.
Some of it is lack of training; some of it is wrong directions from superiors and then there is personal abuse of power and authority.
It must be addressed; specially when any one is offering for any pertinant information to establish the facts from an officer of the court i.e. their lawyer.It is truly sad.

[Enry C. San Andreas]

Those so call officer should not been let off the hook easyly, I am sure at one point in the past they there were "Illigal Aliens" that made it throught Immigration gaps.

I encourage you to file a complaint against all of them, these "Junior High drop outs" should not be allowed to make decision on their own. I am a professional Immigration Consultant in New York we make sure that every time something as your "chaos" take place a supervisor take proper action against any "clerk"

It is your right to make sure that these clerks, do not do it again, ever!

Enry4
The Big Apple

[TK]

Carl, you are much too hopeful. I doubt if anything will change. Although I cannot condone the rude and high-handed know-it-all behavior, I can't really blame border guards for not comprehending the myriad legal statuses that US immigration law provides. And yet, congress and USCIS keep complicating this patchwork, as if all these checkpoints were manned by people who went to law school.

Back when my adjustment petition was pending, and when I used to enter the country with an Advance Parole document, I was never very comfortable with my I-94 that was always stamped to expire a year from my entry. As my lawyer told me and as I am sure is true, the date on the I-94 does not matter when you enter with an Advance Parole document (or if you are awaiting adjudication of your adjustment petition). But yet I could bet that not every CBP officer knew that, and after reading this story I guess I was right.

Why can't the USCIS and DoS simply issue visas instead of advance parole documents and on admitting an alien with such a visa (perhaps supported by the I-485 receipt notice just as an I-20 supports an F-1 visa), mark the I-94 as indefinitely valid, similar to the "DS" notations on F-1 I-94s for students. That way, adjustees can spare themselves not only the ritual of having to renew their Advance Parole document (which, by the way, is not even readily recognized worldwide as a document that allows entry into the US without a visa), but also the uncertainty of having to convince an agent such as the ones mentioned here who still think that the I-94 expiry date is the be all and end all of legal status.

And can we please get rid of the 214(b) immigrant-intent nonsense. It would be funny if its selective enforcement weren't nauseating. On the one hand, DoS is supposed to make sure F-1 holders have no intent to immigrate to the US, and on the other hand you have USCIS and congress greasing the wheels for students wanting to immigrate to the US (cap-gap, 20K H1Bs for advanced degrees, 30 month OPT for STEM graduates, indefinite H1B extension during pendency of I-485). Why, silicon valley would not have existed were it not for F-1 students who eventually immigrated. The contradiction is mind-boggling.

[TK]

I just sent a mail to Senator Feinstein expressing my outrage at this story.

If you want to do the same, here's the link...
http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.EmailMe

[roger]

Did they had Advance parole? I know you do not need if you are in US but just curious

[Gioeliza]

Wow, how sad that this still happening, There are so many people in the world that risk their lifes to come to the United States of America. if they only knew how they would be treated they would just risk starving where they live. The sad thing is that this will never end, there will always be ignorant people like those men and women at the borders. They should hope that they or their families never get targetted like they do the Immigrants in this country.

[Ron Chavez]

As you can see this is only half of the story, what is the other half?
There seems to be no laws broken on the part of the guards and they are only doing their jobs.
If you get stoped by (police/border guards) you need to try to do what they ask , information on who you are is important and it does need to be checked .Do not say the guards are high school or less schooling ,most have collage and military backgrounds.
they did their jobs and no one was hurt !
Security first and safety of this country before people blame the guards for a new bombing !

[Fred]

"There seems to be no laws broken on the part of the guards and they are only doing their jobs."

They were NOT doing their jobs. They wrongly detained them because of their ignorance of the valid documents that were presented, and their failure to understand that an expired I-94 does not imply illegal status in their situation.

[Emanuela]

I also wish that the Service and agencies would instruct officers not to demean attorneys. Since this system has become adversarial, for an CBP officer to try to instill distrust in one's attorney to render the alien even more confused and helpless, is not only unethical but it flies in the face of our system of justice. Those officers should be reprimanded and retrained.

[Lisette Ocampo]

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you Carl for the support you gave to this family. They are a family of mine.

[SRINIVASAN PILLAI]

Sue those nutty officers......the family that suffered are legal workers.They have their rights and freedom too.You can't abuse them like these officers did.This is disgusting!!!Also Mr.Shusterman should sue them for bad-mouthing him.Atleast then,immigration will discipline its team.

[H.Lou]

Thank you Carl for all the help & support you've rendered to this family. Something must have been done to these officers who are not knowlegable enough with immigration laws.
This family are educated people who are working legally in the US. They have their rights & they should have not been treated that way. They are not criminals.

[Concerned Citizen]

What was the specific reason given to you about why you and your family were released?

[William G. Premaza and Carminia Premaza]

I notice AILA is having a conference in Washington covering Derivative VISAs. After 15 years our granddaughter aged out while her mother and twin brothers received their visas in 2005. I guess our hope still is in the hands of the court filings in California. Based upon your filing the Administration should be able to issue administrative orders to fix this problem so that we can have the American Dream of our last family member becoming a permanent resident.

[William G. Premaza and Carminia Premaza]

We are so happy for the Filipino family covered in your Bulletin. You should be so proud that your help and support finally moved them steps forward by adding such an example to the horror stories of immigration. So many wait so long, pray every day and continue to dream they will be the next in line to receive a Visa to this great country.

[abenk]

it's nice blog..... i like it..
pleased to meet your blog...
COME VISIT ME...OK...thank you very much