Twenty-two individuals appeared in Saipan immigration court due to notices to appear or continuation of removal proceedings as moved by U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Wagner will conduct another hearing for 15 respondents this week.
DHS assistant chief counsel Heith M. Kaneshige represented the federal government.
Some respondents belonged to the 628 individuals granted conditional umbrella permits by the Attorney General’s Office.
Attorneys who appeared with the respondents were Linda Wingenbach, Stephen Woodruff, Mun Su Park, Reynaldo Yana, and Janet King.
Jocelyn Santos, who participated by phone from Rota, was ordered to coordinate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for her removal date.
Wagner said he was left no choice but to issue an order of removal because there was no relief available that would stay Santos’ removal.
Santos, who has a child, opted for voluntary departure. She said she has no money and is seeking assistance from the Philippine Consulate General.
Wagner asked the respondent if there’s anyone or friends who could provide her money for her ticket. Santos said she had none.
Kaneshige told the court the federal government is declining to exercise prosecutorial discretion in Santos’ case.
Yue Juan He, for her part, has until March 12, 2012 to depart the commonwealth, or the voluntary departure order will convert to order of removal.
The court directed Yue Juan He to post $500 voluntary departure bond within five working days.
Yue Juan He has a criminal conviction in Superior Court.
Wagner said Khalid Nawaz, who is married to a Palauan, is “removable.”
Nawaz told the court that he has been living on Saipan since 1991.
Nawaz said he hasn’t practiced Islam, and he fears this would impact his return to Pakistan. His children are also on island.
Nawaz’s three children were also undergoing removal proceedings, but their lawyer has filed a motion to terminate proceedings.
Wagner directed Nawaz to fill out U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-589 which is an application for asylum and withdrawal of removal under the Convention against Torture Treaty.
Wagner also directed a family of three who are associated with Falun Gong in the commonwealth to fill out Form I-589.
Wagner informed Shixu Huang to submit documents in English for his next hearing.
Shixu Huang, who has been convicted of attempting to sneak into Guam from Rota in Jan. 2010, took pictures and witnessed the shooting of students by Chinese troops in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Shixu Huang was identified by the Chinese government as a “counter-revolutionary.” He had been imprisoned for hard labor for several years, and the conditions he was held under violated human rights as they amounted to torture, Shixu Huang said.
Wagner continued removal proceedings for Sylvia Alarzar, Edwin Bayot, Huaming Zhang, Bo Xin Li, Hai Shan Huang, Ali Nawaz, Omar Nawaz, Hassan Nawaz, Xu Huang, Baltazar De Leon, Mohammad Bashar, Elvis Tibong, Yolanda Oringo, Xiandong Guo, Ping Zhang, Yue Guo, Caixia Qu, and Lianjun Li.
