INS deportation rulings sped up, obvious errors being made.

The L.A Times reports that deportations rulings are  now being processed assembly line style, in as little as ten minutes, with some people being deported in clear violation of the facts in there case. Some lawyers wonder if the judges even read the reports.

“A Justice Department overhaul of the immigration appeals system, often the last stop for people fighting deportation, has prompted a barrage of unusually fast rulings rendered without explanation — and an outcry about noncitizens’ rights to due process.

“Does it make sense? The answer is no,” said T. Alexander Aleinikoff, a law professor at Georgetown University and former Immigration and Naturalization Service general counsel. “We are already seeing results: Many, many cases are decided at a speed that makes it impossible to believe they got the scrutiny a person who faces removal from the United States deserves.”

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Leimert Park

“Leimert Park is a phenomenon, nothing but a phenomenon. Like Central Avenue was a phenomenon; Harlem was a Black phenomenon. It’s where people gathered. It had all of this energy. It became a bright light where it should not have been. And, look, what people don’t recognize is that even South Central is a well of energy.” Richard Fulton, owner of Fifth Street Dick’s Coffee House

Leimert Park Village in Los Angeles has been a center for Black artists and culture for some time now. Leimert is more than just a retail zone, for many, it’s a cultural home.

However, and we’ve heard this story before - artists move into a dying area, turn it into something creative, and bring the area back to life. After a bit, the buildings get bought by people unconcerned or uncaring about the culture that has been so carefully nurtured and built up. Rents soar, the current tenants can no longer afford it, and stores and artists get evicted. Good bye home grown culture. Hello Starbucks. That’s what’s happening in Leimert now. Someone bought a building, jacked up the rents, and is evicting long time tenants.
 
From the L.A. Times

It’s like something is dying,” said Ramsess, whose rent went from $1,000 to $2,300 a month. “The flavor of the street will change. With these rents, the only businesses I can see opening up in here are salons and wig shops, nothing artistic.”

“The new owners are not interested in anything other than receiving the rent,” said Laura Hendrix, president of the Leimert Park Merchants Assn. “We wrote a letter to them to let them know they didn’t just invest in a building, they invested in a community that is proud and moving forward.”

Hendrix said that the merchants set up a meeting for next month with Mayor James K. Hahn in the hopes that he would intervene by bringing together the new owners and shopkeepers to discuss what can be done to preserve the area. But others plan to hold on to their roots, saying they will fight to stay, not wanting to see Leimert Park Village fade as a center of black life.

There was a rally today in Leimert Park, the first of many I’m sure. Yes, people are organizing to stop the evictions.  What they need most of all is media coverage and lots of it, so everyone, spread the word.

Save Leimert Park!

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INS mass arrests update

Class action lawsuit filed

“The essence of the lawsuit is that on Dec. 16-18, the INS unlawfully arrested large numbers of people, especially in Los Angeles, as they came forward to voluntarily comply with new “special registration” requirements. The groups are seeking an injunction before the next registration deadline to avoid a repetition of last week’s mass arrests. Six individuals detained as a result of the new INS policy of special registrations are co-plaintiffs, and represent a broader group of victims in this class action suit.

The lawsuit takes issue with four aspects of the recent detentions:

1- The detentions were illegal because the government did not obtain the necessary arrest warrants;

2- It is unlawful and unjust to deport people who have been slated for adjustment of status and who have complied with the law at every stage;

3- Detainees are being held without bail or bond, and are subject to deportation without due process;

4- The fear of mass arrests created by these detentions will inhibit compliance by people facing similar registration deadlines in the near future.”

Group 1 men and boys, (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria) were required to register by Dec 16. When they did so, many were arrested, and the whereabouts of some of those arrested is still not known, not even to their lawyers or families.

Group 2 men and boys (Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen) must register by Jan 10.  Here in L.A., volunteers are being trained to be with those registering when they walk into the INS.  The volunteers will be monitors in case more arrests happen.

There will almost certainly be a large demonstration going on outside as the registrations are taking place on inside.

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