 NEWS BYTES
The Minnesota Supreme Court recently disbarred an attorney for allegedly mishandling immigration cases, in some cases resulting in the deportation of his clients. According to the court, William P. Kaszynski and his employees “harmed clients through incompetence, mishandling of client matters, neglect, lack of diligence, noncommunication and excessive fees.
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A social worker in Illinois was recently charged with defrauding more than 20 immigrants at a previous job she held in Kansas. According to authorities in Kansas, Martha Archuleta, robbed people of more than ,000 between 1998 and 1999 by having clients fill out blank money orders, ostensibly for INS fees. Instead of sending the money order to the INS, however, Archuleta cashed them herself.
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Two teenage boys died on Christmas Eve when they hid themselves in the wheel well of a British Airways jet leaving Havana. According to family members of the two boys, they hoped the plane would take them to the US. They died after the plane took off for London because of the lack of oxygen and freezing temperatures in the compartment.
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Attorney General Janet Reno recently gave her farewell address to the Department of Justice, which she has headed since 1993. In the speech, she thanked all of the Justice Department employees for their service to the Clinton Administration. Speaking of the INS she said: “Doris [Meissner, until recently INS Commissioner], you, your colleagues, the service and the Border Patrol have done so much to maintain this nation's tradition of immigration, a tradition that I think my father would be very proud to tell you you have not only maintained, but you have promoted and left in better order because of the wonderful people that worked with you and because of your leadership.”
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A new District Director has been named to head of the INS Dallas District Office. Anne M. Estrada was named to the position on January 11. Estrada has worked with the INS for 23 years, most recently as the Deputy District Director of the El Paso District Office.
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Following a complaint filed with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development by 24 immigrant workers that they were not being paid, the business that was the subject of the complaint has agreed to close and work with the state to distribute back pay.
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A teenage girl originally from Hong Kong and now living in New Jersey says that she was threatened with a firing squad by a government official. According to Lin Qiaoying, she was forced to sign someone else’s name to immigration documents by Hong Kong officials who questioned the validity of her passport issued in mainland China. Lin, who is a permanent resident of the US, was 16 when she claimed that Hong Kong immigration inspectors forced her to falsely admit that her passport was fraudulent. She spent almost three months in jail before it became clear that it was genuine. Lin is now back in Hong Kong to give testimony against three people accused of intimidating her. According to her testimony, at one point she was told “If you do not sign, you will be sent back to the mainland China and face a firing squad or be put behind bars in Hong Kong for the rest of your life.”
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The INS recently denied accusations that employees in its Miami office made anti-Cuban remarks during the Elian Gonzalez controversy last year. In a press released, the INS stated that “These types of assertions are inflammatory, and they mislead the public. The notion that the Florida District Office would condone, encourage or promote an atmosphere of hostility toward any ethnic group or nationality is outrageous and untrue.” The allegations of anti-Cuban bias came from an attorney who represents the union to which many INS employees belong during a deposition related to a civil suit brought against the INS by Gonzalez’ Miami family.
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A former official in the government of the Czech Republic is going to be tried in Cuba for allegedly plotting “counter revolutionary” efforts on behalf of US interests. According to the Cuban government, the ex-minister of finance Ivan Pilip and a student leader were working for the US government.
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The Cuban Foreign Minister, while on an official visit to Greece, said that he does not expect US-Cuban relations to improve under the administration of President-elect George W. Bush. According to Felipe Roque, the primary reason for concern is the important role Cuban-Americans played in Bush’s election. There is concern that even as there is a growing movement to loosen trade restrictions on Cuba, this group will demand that the US stops movements in that direction. Roque said that without the end of the US embargo on Cuba, there will not be any progress in the relationship between the two countries.
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