Teen targeted by Trump admin raised big 'legal questions' after release: analyst
A Massachusetts high school student was granted bond and was able to return home after being detained by immigration agents while he was on his way to volleyball practice. One of the comments he made upon arriving home Thursday, however, raised red flags for a legal analyst regarding the nature of how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is deporting people.
Marcelo Gomes da Silva was brought to the U.S. when he was seven years old. Known as "Dreamers," children like de Silva were eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). President Donald Trump tried to end the program in his first term. It was overturned, however, by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Among the things de Silva said in his speech was that there were so many people in the deportation facility who were unable to read or speak English and didn't know why they were there. Some were given paperwork they had to sign, but couldn't read. The youngster was forced to tell migrants detained with him that they were being deported. He said that they'd then break down in tears.
“I told every single inmate down there: When I’m out, if I’m the only one who was able to leave that place, I lost,” de Silva said. “I want to do whatever I can to get them as much help as possible. If they have to be deported, so be it. But in the right way, in the right conditions. Because no one down there is treated good.”
He also reported that they were forced to sleep on the floor, and some days they'd only be given crackers to eat.
"There's like genuine criminals out there that people aren't giving attention to," de Silva added. "They're getting good people that don't deserve to be here."
During the 2024 campaign, Trump said that he would only go after criminal migrants, but that hasn't been the case, the Texas Tribune reported.
Speaking to MSNBC about it on Friday, legal analyst Lisa Rubin said that it raises some legal questions for her, when da Silva said that he relied on someone else to get documents translated into English.
"As the Supreme Court has repeatedly held, before being deported, people are entitled to notice and a reasonable opportunity to be heard," she cited. "Sometimes, if you've got language barriers, you need a translation of your papers. And just relying on a fellow immigrant in detention with you is not usually what constitutionally cuts the mustard."
The conditions of the facilities raise additional concerns.
"He also raised another issue when he was talking about people sleeping on the floors and that facility in which he is being held. We're hearing similar stories and our reporting from people who represent people like Marcelo, that facilities that historically have not been at capacity are starting to fill up such that there isn't any place to sleep other than the floor, as it was for Marcelo, or, for example, speaking to lawyers who represent another high school student," Rubin continued.
One facility in Pennsylvania, she said, is already at capacity.
"It's not the end of his road, but good on him for also underscoring how many similarly situated people are not getting the process that they deserve," Rubin added.
See the clip below or at the link here.
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