Court-appointed attorney Joseph James Norita Camacho said his client Wei Lin “very much needed” an investigator to prepare for the preliminary hearing on May 18, as well as trial, if the court determines that the case will proceed to trial.
Camacho said his client is unable to post bail and remains in custody.
The defense, he added, was “particularly concern[ed] with the appearance of racial profiling and the use of the CNMI law enforcement personnel to investigate and enforce federal immigration law and policy, a situation similar to the national controversy happening in Arizona.”
The defendant, who was arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has denied the charges.
When stopped for a traffic violation on Sept. 7, 2010, Wei told Police Officer Tarimai Joseph K. Yangetmai that he obtained a CNMI driver’s license issued on June 9, 2010 from a Bangladeshi man and paid $350 for it.
The arresting office then referred Wei to ICE.
