By Mary E. O'Leary Published 4:23 pm CDT, Sunday, August 19, 2018 HARTFORD — The former judge could either keep talking back to the radio broadcast or figure out a way to change the situation that was the source of his angst. Robert L. Holzberg, a partner at Pullman & Comley in Hartford, was listening to accounts of two legal clinics in reuniting families whose children had been taken from them at the U.S.-Mexican border as part of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy. The children had been detained at Noank Community Support Services Inc., a nonprofit in Groton, which has a contract with the government. Holzberg, who retired as a Superior Court judge in 2012, said he was following the story of the 2,300 family separations with a “mixture of frustration, anger and a feeling of impotence. It raised a question for me that there must be something we could do.” The federal court win by the Workers and Immigrants Rights … [Read more...] about Former judges create legal-aid campaign for immigrants in Connecticut
Immigration
Mass. lawsuit challenging immigrant arrests goes before judge
BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge in Boston is hearing arguments in a lawsuit challenging the arrest of immigrants seeking legal residency through marriage. The Monday hearing will address the government’s arguments to dismiss the class action lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, as well as the ACLU’s request for temporary relief for its clients while the case continues. The ACLU argues immigration officials are violating federal regulations permitting certain spouses of U.S. citizens to pursue lawful immigration status while remaining in the country. The lead plaintiff in the case is Lilian Calderon, a Guatemalan woman in Rhode Island arrested following an interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. She was released in February after the ACLU intervened and is among 17 individuals detained following marriage interviews this year. Close The biggest headlines, delivered to your inbox Get news as it happens. Sign up for … [Read more...] about Mass. lawsuit challenging immigrant arrests goes before judge
Campaign raising money for free legal immigrant services
(AP) - Two retired state jurists have teamed up to raise money to help expand free legal services to immigrant children and families in Connecticut.Former Chief Justice Chase Rogers and former Superior Court Judge Robert Holzberg are warning there's a growing and unmet demand for legal representation. It comes amid a harder line being taken by the Trump administration on immigration.Related Content: Judge tells US officials, ACLU to come up with asylum planHolzberg says he was inspired to raise money for the state's legal aid organizations after lawyers helped two immigrant children who were detained in Connecticut after being separated at the border.Joshua Perry, the deputy director of Connecticut Legal Services, says his attorneys can only help a limited number of clients because of funding constraints.He says 600 people last year had to defend themselves in the Hartford Immigration Court. … [Read more...] about Campaign raising money for free legal immigrant services
Penn lawyer who defended immigrants could face her own deportation
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2015, Esperanza Franco headed south to the border, where she worked defending immigrants who faced deportation. Now she’s the one who might get kicked out of the country. Franco says her former employer’s mishandling of a work-visa application — she came here from Spain five years ago — has put her in danger of losing her legal status. She fears that in less than a month she could end up being jailed in the same Arizona detention center where she has gone to visit clients. “I’m going through so much stress,” Franco said. “I’m waking up in the middle of night, with back pain.” The paradox of her situation is not lost on Franco, 28, who put her legal knowledge and Spanish-language skills to work in Tucson at the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, a nonprofit advocacy group. The project director said that, far from fumbling Franco’s … [Read more...] about Penn lawyer who defended immigrants could face her own deportation
Navarette: Fox News hosts vie to say the worst about immigrants
By Ruben Navarrette Jr. | August 19, 2018 at 6:00 am SAN DIEGO — Talk about a race to the bottom. There is a kind of xenophobia Olympics going on at Fox News. Primetime hosts Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham appear to be locked in a fierce competition over who can say the ugliest thing about immigrants. These two media figures — who can seem like a cross between demagogues and circus clowns — keep trying to outdo one another. Every slight is worse than the one before. Carlson seemed like a shoo-in thanks to his condescending attacks on any immigrant foolish enough to go on his show. A favorite pinata is Cesar Vargas, a Mexican immigrant and lawyer, who tends to get under Carlson’s skin. Maybe it’s because the young man is self-made. Unlike Carlson, he didn’t grow up in La Jolla, California, with a father who was a well-known television executive and a stepmom who was the heiress to a frozen food fortune. Unlike Carlson, he didn’t start … [Read more...] about Navarette: Fox News hosts vie to say the worst about immigrants