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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.
Und die Punchline? Er bekam dann vor Gericht $85000 zugesprochen, aber die nächsthöhere Instanz urteilte, dass er das Geld nicht kriegen wird. Begründung: Die Tat ist verjährt, während er ohne Anwalt illegal im Knast saß. (Danke, Thorsten)