‘Immigration legal system does not protect rights’

The American judicial system deems everyone innocent until proven guilty and guarantees a fair hearing with a lawyer — but not when it comes to immigration. Then there are far fewer rights. And as the system comes under pressure from a flood of new cases, the strain is showing.

One result is that U.S. citizens arrested as illegal immigrants or deportable residents cannot count on the legal system as a safety net. The odds are stacked against them. On the basis of interviews, lawsuits and documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, The Associated Press has documented more than 55 such cases since 2000, and immigration lawyers count hundreds more.

Those who go through the immigration legal system can be arrested without a warrant. They are not read their rights unless it’s a criminal case. They do not get a lawyer unless they can pay or find one who will work for free. They can be deported without hearings. And until this January, they didn’t get a free phone call.

Source.  The catch-22 with regard to immigration status has been that if you are a citizen, you are supposedly not required to carry papers.  However, if you are suspected of not being a citizen, you need to have proof.