Mass. judge refuses to return immigrants

Mass. judge refuses to return immigrants

	Published : Thu, 10 May 2007 16:04 By : Agencies Print this Story

BOSTON (AP) - A federal judge has refused to return to Massachusetts more than 200 illegal immigrants arrested in factory raid and shipped to Texas detention centers to await deportation.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns dismissed earlier this week a case brought by the detained immigrants, agreeing with the government's argument that his Massachusetts court has no jurisdiction over the case.

Federal immigration officials arrested more than 360 mostly Central American women in a March 6 raid at the Michael Bianco Inc. factory in New Bedford, Mass. The company makes equipment and apparel for the U.S. military.

Attorneys had argued that the government intentionally deprived the immigrants of family and legal resources by transferring them to remote holding centers in Texas, in some cases hours after the raid.

After interviewing the detainess, the lawyers said several dozen immigrants were either coerced or confused when they voluntarily agreed to waive an appeal of their deportation order. They argued a return to Massachusetts would ensure that the government follows proper procedures.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement lawyers repeatedly have said the New Bedford workers were moved because there was no space to hold them in state, and that Texas officials have not denied legal counsel to any of the detainees.

Stearns' ruling extends a 21-day temporary restraining order barring the government from deporting any of the detainees until they can file their case in the appropriate court.

Federal law requires the detainees to exhaust all administrative remedies in Texas immigration courts before they can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals, and, then, to the appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals, Stearns wrote.

Stearns wrote that lawyers for the immigrants had failed to identify any legal reason for him to grant 'the extraordinary relief that they seek -- an order directing that they be returned as a group to Massachusetts for removal proceedings.'