Skip to main content

Lawsuit says ICE attorney forged document

By WTOP Staff

MANUEL VALDES
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorney forged a document in an attempt to deport an immigrant seeking to stay in the country with his wife and children, according to a new lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in a Seattle U.S. District Court, seeks $500,000 in damages for Ignacio Lanuza-Torres because the alleged forgery cost him years of courtroom battles. Lanuza-Torres is now a legal U.S. resident.

According to the lawsuit, Lanuza-Torres entered the country illegally from Mexico in 1996, settling in Seattle thereafter. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to unlawfully displaying a weapon after handling a friend’s pistol at a party, and he was put in removal proceedings by ICE.

The following year, Lanuza-Torres married his girlfriend, an American citizen, and sought to have his removal canceled because of the marriage and because he had also met the stipulation of being in the country continuously for 10 years.

But in court, ICE assistant chief counsel Jonathan M. Love said Lanuza-Torres had voluntarily given up his right to appear before an immigration judge after he was apprehended by Border Patrol agents in 2000.

The government argued that because Lanuza-Torres had left the U.S. to visit Mexico about five times and because he gave up his right to appear before a judge, his appeal to cancel his removal should be rejected.

In Border Patrol custody, Love said, Lanuza-Torres had signed a document declining to appear before an immigration judge to argue his case. The document provided evidence that Lanuza-Torres had not been in the country continuously for 10 years. Love entered the document as evidence a week after making his statement in court.

Immigration Judge Kenneth Josephson accepted the form as evidence and ordered Lanuza-Torres deported.

As Lanuza-Torres appealed, his attorney at the time, Hilary Han, noticed something off about the evidence.

The form Love submitted had a Department of Homeland Security header, even though it was dated Jan. 13, 2000 — nearly 20 months before the department was created in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. The form also had the signature of ICE officer Anthony Dodd, who processed Lanuza in Seattle in 2008. The form was supposed to date to 2000 and originate from the U.S.-Mexico border.

“You’re left in shock. You don’t know why he did it. You don’t know what he had against me or what happened,” Lanuza-Torres said in Spanish, adding “besides getting angry, you get sad. It feels like I was stabbed in the back.”

Here is “someone who blatantly forged a document in order to deprive someone of their only chance to stay here in the United States with their family, deprive them of their only chance to exercise their rights under the law,” said Matt Adams, an attorney with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and Lanuza-Torres’ current attorney.

ICE spokesman Andrew Munoz said an internal review has been launched.

“Any unlawful conduct by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) employees is inconsistent with our agency values and the high standards to which we hold our employees. We take all allegations of misconduct seriously,” Munoz said, declining to comment further because of the pending lawsuit.

Reached by phone Thursday, Love said he was not aware of the lawsuit. Asked if he remembered the Lanuza-Torres case, he said he did not.

Besides seeking damages, Adams has filed complaints with the Homeland Security inspector general, urging a review of all cases Love handled.

___

Manuel Valdes can be reached at http://twitter.com/ByManuelValdes

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
Read Next Story

Related News

Frustration grows in Venezuela as earthquake death toll reaches 1,430

Israel and Lebanon sign framework agreement with US in ‘first step’ toward peace, Rubio says

Trump-endorsed populist poised to become Colombia’s next president as rival challenges vote