What is it about the Pacific Northwest? The Isenberg Center for Immigration Empowerment (ICIE) is once again involved in a matter out West that is very complicated. At issue is a young man named EDSON that came to the United States when he was 6 years old from Mexico with his parents. EDSON grew up here and was doing great in school until the 11th grade when everything fell apart. He went from being an “A” student to an “F” student in one year. EDSON now says he is ready to resume being a good student but first he must win a battle to remain in the United States and not be deported.
EDSON was going to community college and working part-time at a department store in Oregon. For reasons unrelated to needing money EDSON started giving family, friends and customers unauthorized discounts and was caught by loss prevention. He confessed his wrong doing and agreed to pay the chain back the amount he had discounted to others. Even though he agreed to repay the debt, signed a note, made a partial payment and signed a payroll deduction form the police were called and EDSON was arrested and charged with a felony or was it a misdemeanor? The Court handled the crime as the later but ICE is insisting he is a felon. ICIE thinks not. EDSON pled guilty because of very poor legal advice and was sentenced to 10 days in jail (time served), court costs, restitution (which he had already agreed to pay), no fine, community service, anti-theft school and 24 months’ probation. His sentence was as if he committed a misdemeanor because upon completion of probation the Court ordered the conviction to be treated as the lesser crime.
EDSON was being given another chance by the State of Oregon but not ICE. EDSON was detained and put into proceeding and he has been detained for over a year. Once again legal stupidly would get EDSON in more trouble as EDSON sought relief from being deported on the grounds of political asylum from Mexico because he was gay. He lost his case in Immigration Court for a pretty good reason, EDSON is not gay. So a first timer offender now finds himself potentially facing perjury charges and immigration charges that would ban him from ever entering the United States again.
ICIE checked with the department store and they were never consulted about a civil settlement (which it appears they had agreed to) or a sentence reduction given he was a youthful first time offender. The chain does not want to see EDSON deported and is working with ICIE to come up with some way of properly communicating this to ICE. They are also in agreement to attempt to secure post-conviction relief for EDSON.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that EDSON’s mother is severely depressed over the matter and needs her son at home. EDSON is an only child and the parents lost a previous child prior to EDSON being born. ICIE has filed an I-246 with ICE asking for EDSON to be released immediately on his own recognizance because he is neither a flight risk nor a threat to society. ICIE needs time to work with the Court for relief which would not require EDSON to be deported and establish his Morton Memo qualifications in a very detailed fashion. This takes time and ICIE is asking for the time to properly document the story of EDSON.
The story of EDSON happens hundreds of time a day across the United States. ICIE believes the legal help and not the circumstances of his wrongs have EDSON trapped. ICIE will do everything it can to correct this before the dreams of a young man are destroyed forever.
