Luis is a seventeen year old Salvadoran who was placed in immigration detention in El Centro, California, in January. DHS mistakenly believed he was an adult, and placed Luis in adult detention. Luis’ completed his immigration hearings in El Centro, where he was unrepresented, and the Immigration Judge didn't know to screen him for juvenile defenses. If Luis had been properly identified as a child, he would have been represented by pro bono counsel either in San Diego or in Los Angeles. Luis was ordered deported on March 3, 2005.

When DHS began processing Luis for deportation, they realized that he was a juvenile. They sent him to the custody of the Office of Refuge Resettlement (ORR) (as they are required to do with all minors in immigration detention). ORR placed him in a youth shelter in Los Angeles because the shelters in San Diego did not have enough bed space for him.

In the process of a regular screening of youth at the shelters for kids who have relief from deportation, I met with Luis and discovered that he was ordered deported as an adult. Luis is eligible for defenses against deportation as a minor because he was severely abused by his mother throughout his life, and abandoned by his father around 13 years ago, in El Salvador. He could win asylum based on domestic violence, as well as Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (a way of abandoned and abused children to receive legal permanent residency).

Julianne Donnelly, a detention attorney with Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., filed an emergency Motion to Reopen the case and a Motion for a Stay of Removal with the court at El Centro on Friday. She also filed a request for a Stay of Removal with the DHS offices in Los Angeles and San Diego asking them not to deport Luis until the court has had the chance to review and make a decision on my Motion to Reopen. Neither the court nor DHS has made a decision yet. The bottom line is that the March 3 order of removal is still in full effect. DHS is planning to deport this child tomorrow Tuesday, March 15th, 2005.

Luis deserves the chance to apply for relief, for which he is eligible, before he is deported. It is key to make sure that Luis gets the legal opportunity to have good representation in court, and to hold the Immigration system accountable to its own rules and regulations.

The DHS Officer who is deciding whether or not to grant the request for a stay of removal is Gladis Martinez. She may be reached at (619) 557-5802. Please call her to communicate your concern that Luis' due process rights not be ignored, and that his deportation be stopped.

If you want any further information, please call Catholic Legal Immigration Network's Client Services Coordinator, Kristi Fernandez, at 213-251-3509.