Report: US drug deportations tearing families apart

Unlike drug laws for U.S. citizens, existing immigration policies have not seen the same types of reform, according to the report, titled “A Price Too High: U.S. Families Torn Apart by Deportations for Drug Offenses.”

These immigration policies “essentially mandate detention, deportation and exile each year for tens of thousands of immigrants, including lawful permanent residents, convicted of drug offenses,” the report said.

Deported residents and undocumented immigrants often have strong family and community ties to the U.S. But those factors are irrelevant and cannot be considered by immigration judges because of current federal immigration policies, the report said. Even non-citizens who fear persecution if returned to their home country become ineligible for asylum if they have a drug conviction with any element of a sale.

"The immigration system is so broken and almost arbitrary," David Angel, Santa Clara assistant district secretary, said on a conference call Tuesday, adding that such policies often have "unintended, life shattering consequences for what would otherwise be a minor offense."

President Barack Obama’s administration has deported over 2 million people since 2009. Deportations are intended to target non-citizens who posed a threat to the public, not children and families. But the immigration laws often break up those very families over minor, nonviolent offenses, HRW said.

Just days after turning 18, Abduhakim Haji-Eda, an Ethiopian immigrant was arrested for selling a small amount of cocaine at a bus stop. He was convicted of possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, and sentenced to one year in prison. After his release from prison six months later, immigration authorities arrested Eda. He was put into removal proceedings and charged with being deportable for "aggravated felony of drug trafficking," according to HRW.

Eda received a temporary stay of removal. He is now 26 years old, married to a U.S. citizen and has two U.S.-born children. Eda has never been convicted of any other offense, but because of his drug conviction, the immigration judge cannot use his discretion to consider those factors. The judge ordered Eda to be deported, HRW said.

Eda is one of over 130 individuals interviewed by HRW for its report. Most of them have similarly strong family ties to the U.S. But due to  minor drug offenses, they have been deemed deportable, the report said.

“The U.S. has fallen far behind the practice of governments around the world in terms of providing protection for family unity in deportation proceedings,” the report said.

HRW recommends that the U.S. restore immigration judges the discretion to consider cases involving drug offenses on a case-by-case basis. The judge should also be allowed to weigh factors including the seriousness of the offense, evidence of rehabilitation, family ties and the best interests of any minor children, the report said.

Furthermore, Congress should eliminate the permanent ban on entering the U.S. for any drug offense, and amend the broad definition of conviction that can even include expunged or pardoned drug offenses, HRW said.

"Unfortunately there has not been any movement on a federal level for federal reform," Angie Junck, supervising attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, said during the conference call. "We're at a standstill with the federal government doing anything to fix our broken immigration laws."