Fighting Deportation

A long time friend of mine sits forlornly inside a cell at some Miami detention center, awaiting the verdict of the Board of Immigration Appeals, though deep within his heart he no longer has hope. The expensive lawyer that was supposed to provide counsel in front of the Board has decided to drop his case after the Judge denied his asylum request. The U.S Government often decides to attempt the deportation of non-citizens, especially if they were involved in a crime. In the case of legal aliens, I think sometimes this is a waste of time and money. If it can be determined that the person in question is not a danger to society, and has already paid the piper by serving his time in jail and going through the counseling and probation process why file for deportation? I strongly suspect that at the time when my friend accepted a plead proposal by the prosecutors, he was not really aware that he could possibly be deported though I've mentioned this possibility to him in private over a couple of beers.

What bothers me is that my friend has spent his entire life in the United States and knows nothing about the Philippines, and doesn't even know the language. He has no family there, and will be pretty much at the mercy of a foreign country. He will be leaving behind his fiancee and two younger siblings who basically have to fend for themselves because of their absent parents. When the Feds decided to pick him up, the guy was working two jobs trying to make right, attempting to set right everything that had gone awry.

The U.S Government does not provide Legal Counsel for the poor who are tried for deportation, and many bungle their cases by representing themselves in front of the Board of Immigration Appeals. It is estimated that 34% of cases are granted asylum when there is a counsel present to plead your case.