6 thoughts on “ICE holds US citizen for three years w/o access to lawyer. Court denies damages because shit happens, sorry dude”
Davino Watson told the immigration officers that he was a U.S. citizen. He told jail officials that he was a U.S. citizen. He told a judge. He repeated it again and again.
There is no right to a court-appointed attorney in immigration court. Watson, who was 23 and didn't have a high school diploma when he entered ICE custody, didn't have a lawyer of his own. So he hand-wrote a letter to immigration officers, attaching his father's naturalization certificate, and kept repeating his status to anyone who would listen.
Still, Immigration and Customs Enforcement kept Watson imprisoned as a deportable alien for nearly 3 1/2 years. Then it released Watson, who was from New York, in rural Alabama with no money and no explanation. Deportation proceedings continued for another year.
Watson was correct all along: He was a U.S. citizen. After he was released, he filed a complaint. Last year, a district judge in New York awarded him $82,500 in damages, citing "regrettable failures of the government."
On Monday, an appeals court ruled that Watson, now 32, is not eligible for any of that money — because while his case is "disturbing," the statute of limitations actually expired while he was still in ICE custody without a lawyer.
And I'm scared to be an American where I once thought I was free.
And I won't forget the activists who fought for liberty
And I'd gladly stand up next to you and resist him still today.
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land
God help the U.S.A.
Whoa!
Nobody ever said ethnic cleansing would be neat and tidy. Or constitutional.
In other ethnic cleansing news, the military is considering deporting spouses of service members, including those who are deployed.
https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-military/2018…
This should do wonders for morale, and I sure hope Melania doesn't have any unpaid parking tickets.
https://theconcourse.deadspin.com/you-cant-bully-…