US immigration must stop mass immigrant court hearings
December 03 2009 by Liam Clifford
People arrested by US immigration in zero-tolerance areas along the Mexican border have been tried illegally.
Mexican immigrants who have been detained in zero-tolerance areas along the Mexican border will not be prosecuted at mass immigration hearings as they violate federal laws, it was ruled Wednesday.
A panel of three-judges at the Court of Appeals in San Francisco presided that a federal court in Tucson, Arizona - where the mass hearings have been held for immigrants detained by US Immigration authorities - had contradicted Rule 11, this is a requirement that every prisoner be made aware of their rights and understand details of what a guilty plea involves.
Immigrants found in zero-tolerance areas across the Mexican border, under Operation Streamline, are detained and prosecuted in a US federal court on the charges of illegal entry.
The US immigration program was originally recognized as lowering illegal border-crossings, however observers have claimed that immigrants are moved through the legal system without an opportunity to adequately defend themselves.
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