ICE held US citizen for 3 years; he doesn't get compensation

[WOT?*]

My friend the immigration lawyer, who works for an immigration rights organization, posted several articles that have come down my feed today (not the Canada one though - lol), all worthy of discussion. But THIS...

Davino Watson told the immigration officers that he was a U.S. citizen. He told jail officials that he was a U.S. citizen. He told a judge. He repeated it again and again.

There is no right to a court-appointed attorney in immigration court. Watson, who was 23 and didn't have a high school diploma when he entered ICE custody, didn't have a lawyer of his own. So he hand-wrote a letter to immigration officers, attaching his father's naturalization certificate, and kept repeating his status to anyone who would listen.

Still, Immigration and Customs Enforcement kept Watson imprisoned as a deportable alien for nearly 3 1/2 years. Then it released Watson, who was from New York, in rural Alabama with no money and no explanation. Deportation proceedings continued for another year.

And take a wild guess as to the color of his skin.

www.npr.org/2017/08/01/540903038/u-s-citizen-held-by-immigration-for-3-years-denied-compensation-by-appeals-court?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20170801

[al320]

Holy shit... thats just awful. I mean, so incredibly wrong. How the hell can we treat someone that way?! No compensation is bullshit.

[meshaliuknits]

Monetary compensation and releasing him in the flipping city he lived in are literally the LEAST that should be done for him.

[redheadbaker]

This is inhumane and cruel. What the FUCK.

[mrhanky]

I saw this earlier today and my blood has been boiling ever since. Just a reminder that parts of this country sucked before Trump and will continue to suck long after he's gone.
Also, my husband hates when I see stuff like this because I always end up asking for specific explanations of obscure laws that are nowhere near his area of practice.