Summary
After more than 300 unlawful alien workers were arrested on criminal charges in the Agriprocessors, Inc. raid in Postville, Iowa, the proceedings used a fast-tracking plea-bargaining system where every defendant pled guilty within two weeks. These defendants were deprived of their liberty without due process of law: all of the defendants were provided with a Spanish interpreter, yet many of them spoke and understood only indigenous South American languages, not Spanish. The civil balancing test of Mathews v. Eldridge provides a useful lens to analyze these criminal proceedings and to understand what the court should have done to ensure these defendants' pleas were "knowing and voluntary." This Note argues that the Agriprocessors defendants, denied adequate interpretation, were deprived of their liberty without due process of law in violation of the Fifth Amendment.
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Extract
A Matter of Interpretation: How the Language Barrier and the Trend of Criminalizing Illegal Immigration Caused a Deprivation of Due Process Following the Agriprocessors, Inc. Raids
I. INTRODUCTION
On May 12, 2008, federal officials carried out the largest worksite raid to date at Agriprocessors, Inc., the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant, in Postville, Iowa. Following the worksite raid led by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, federal prosecutors focused on criminally charging several hundred workers for using false documents in their job applications. Many of those arrested were Guatemalans or Mexicans who spoke indigenous South American languages, not Spanish. However, only Spanish interpreters were provided. Without an interpreter who spoke their languages, every defendant pled guilty within two weeks of being arrested.The government's policy of criminalizing illegal immigration, which has only accelerated since the September 11 attacks, represents a shift to a more punitive immigration enforcement strategy. Whereas in the past aliens were merely deported or removed - a civil sanction - under the criminalization policy, aliens are charged with crimes and often face imprisonment before being removed. With increased punishment comes an increased concern about defendants' due process rights. The Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, which applies to unlawful aliens, embodies the constitutional protections for criminal justice procedures.1 However, the hasty Agriprocessors proceedings lacked certain due process protections, especially during the plea negotiation phase, since many of these defendant-aliens were provided interpreters who spoke a language they could not understand.2The Agriprocessors legal proceedings are particularly appropriate to analyze within the procedural due process context because of the overlap of civil and criminal law found in the immigration context. Because of the criminalization of immigration policy, the government deliberately decided to apply the criminal justice system to these aliens rather than pursuing mere removal. While due process applies in both the civil and criminal context, it is useful in analyzing these criminal proceedings to draw on the civil context, where the tripartite balancing test of Mathews v. Eldridge3 applies, to illustrate how the balancing of government and individual interests in the Agriprocessors cases favored different procedures.This Note argues that providing Spanish int...See the full content of this document
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