Andrea Saenz, ‘08, fighting for the rights of immigrants
A recent Boston Globe article highlights a battle over deportation and the rights of immigrants. The article highlights the case of Sunday Agbata, a Nigerian born immigrant who came to the United States as a stowaway on ship from West Africa. Agbata was ordered deported in July 2008 to Nigeria but has been sitting in jail without any explanation since he was caught. No explanation as to why he has not yet been deported has been given.
In a Supreme Court ruling in 2001, the court ruled that six months is a reasonable amount of time to allow to deport immigrants after a final decision in their case. After that, the federal government must justify the continued detention.
Andrea Saenz, a 2008 HLS graduate, is Agbata’s lawyer in the case. Saenz is currently the Equal Justice Works Fellow in the Detention Program for the Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project (PAIR), a Boston based legal services organization.