...K P F T news

Related Articles Related Links

LEAD-IN BY HOST: While making his way home to the United States, journalist Roger Calero was picked up last week at Houston Intercontinental airport. He was transported from the airport and placed in a nearby INS detention facility. While still in high school, Calero was convicted for attempting to sell marijuana to an undercover police officer. He served three years probation. Now, a permanent resident of the U.S. for 12 years, Calero faces possible exclusion and deportation based on the old charge. Monica Lopez reports from Houston. STORY: Roger Calero lives in Newark, New Jersey, works in Manhattan, and co-edits a socialist newsmagazine called Pespectiva Mundial. But because of the increased application of two 1996 congressional acts that allow immigration officials to retroactively use past convictions as grounds for deportation, Calero will face a hearing on Tuesday which could lead to his exclusion from the United States. "When I applied for my residency back in 1990 they were fully aware of my previous convictions, so they are trying to use something that I have already been granted a waiver for." The effect of the Anti-terrorism and Illegal Immigration and Reform Act and Immigration responsibility laws was to make most crimes the basis for deportation. According to Joe Vail, supervisor of the law department at the University of Houston, the INS chose to take its interpretation a step further. "In addition to the way the act was interpreted by the immigration service, was that any crime at any time - even if it had been committed 20 to 25 years ago - could be resurrected to make the person deportable. Even if they had since obtained their lawful residence status and if they had lived a perfect life since that time, they could go back to any point in their life and pick up that crime and charge the person and possibly remove them." INS spokesperson Luisa Aquino would only read a prepared statement about Calero's detention. "Based on the information acquired by the INS inspectors at the airport, Mr. Calero was taken into custody and will remain in INS custody until further review of his file is complete. It is against Department of Justice Policy to discuss the specifics on any immigration case." Some say today's strict handling of U.S. immigration can be attributed to Sept. 11. Vail describes some effects of the attacks on law. "Everybody had seen that his law had went too far, too extreme. So it seemed to be swinging back toward a more moderate interpretation. September 11, first of all, killed that momentum. Secondarily, there was talk between President Bush and President Fox in Mexico of a possible, what would in effect be another amnesty and that pretty much killed the momentum for that. There was several bills before congress to return the possibility of relief to long-term permanent residents who had gotten into some type of minor problem with the law. That pretty much killed that too." Inside, while preparing for his hearing, Calero is still filing stories for his publications by dictating copy to wife Sarah Katz [sic???] over the phone. One of Calero's stories for the Militant will focus on conditions inside detention. "Theres a lot of people here that once they start telling their stories, more and more will be revealed about how many people are denied legal representation, how they're denied judicial review and other constitutional rights." Calero also says that the enforcement of these laws is part of a broader attack on workers rights in the United States. "There is a guy here, ironically, who is a construction worker, who worked with the original project of building this jail in 1981. And now he's here, just because his work permit ran out. But a big majority of them, if you go down the list, they are people who have maintained jobs - and they have for many years - and they're here because they missed a letter from INS or they missed a date from INS and they're made criminals because of the bureaucratic obstacles that are put against them." Calero's attorney was unavailable for comment. A hearing date is set for Tuesday, December 17, 9 a.m. on the detention center grounds to determine if he will be deported to Nicaragua. Monica Lopez, KPFT News, Houston. E-mail Monica Lopez at news@kpft.org. This story was broadcast on December 13, 2002.