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  • 2018-01-23 (xsd:date)
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  • Did ICE Deport a Michigan Doctor 40 Years After He Immigrated to the U.S.? (en)
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  • In late January 2018, several reliable news outlets reported that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had detained a doctor in Kalamazoo, Michigan, 40 years after he emigrated from Poland to the United States. One web site, Washington Press, went a step further, claiming in their headline Trump's ICE just deported a doctor living in the U.S. for 40 years. However, the text of the article contradicted the headline, making it clear that the doctor had not been deported, but was in immigration detention. The doctor, Lukasz Niec, is a green card holder who has a was reportedly convicted of two misdemeanors in 1992: malicious destruction of property under $100; and receiving and concealing stolen property over $100. His second conviction was later expunged from his record. Niec’s sister, Iwona Niec Villaire, told the Washington Post, It’s shocking . . . No one can really understand what happened here. She told CNN that Niec does not even speak Polish. While news of the doctor’s detention surprised many, Sarah Pierce, an associate policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, called it something that happens all the time. She told us: The Immigration and Nationality Act, which gives parameters for the detention and removal of immigrants, even those who are in the U.S. legally, allows the deportation of immigrants who have committed crimes involving moral turpitude. ICE officials said in a statement that Niec was amenable to removal proceedings as a result of two 1992 state convictions for malicious destruction of property and receiving stolen property, both of which are crimes involving moral turpitude. An ICE spokesperson told us that two convictions of this nature can make a lawful permanent resident subject to deportation regardless of the amount of time they have lived in the U.S. Pierce said that Niec could be eligible to apply for a cancellation of removal. Lawful permanent residents can avoid deportation if they can prove that his deportation would cause what the Justice Department calls exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to dependents who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. The Justice Department also stipulates that cancellation of removal is possible for residents whose records do not include aggravated felonies. Niec's employer, Bronson Healthcare, issued a statement supporting a speedy resolution to the situation: At press time, Niec was still in ICE detention and had not been deported. It is unclear how long Niec will stay in detention. A 2001 court ruling allows ICE to hold immigrants in detention for up to six months before deporting or releasing them, though on occasion immigrants find themselves held for much longer. (en)
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