AMALIA Abo Guanlao, a former garment worker who first arrived on Saipan in 1994, has filed a new federal complaint alleging ineffective assistance of counsel in her ongoing battle against deportation.
Guanlao, who represented herself in the Aug. 25 filing, named attorneys Joe Hill, Stephen Woodruff, Pamela Brown, Rosemond Santos, Mun Su Park and Timothy Bellas as defendants. She claims their legal missteps contributed to her removal order and prolonged her legal ordeal.
In 2013, an immigration judge ordered Guanlao removed to the Philippines for lacking valid entry documents. She later sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, alleging due process violations and ineffective counsel by attorney Alice Rae, who she says failed to inform her of her right to appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
In 2018, the District Court for the NMI, presided over by Judge Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood, dismissed Guanlao’s case, citing her failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The judge acknowledged Guanlao’s long residency in Saipan but said she had not shown irreparable harm if removed.
Guanlao appealed the dismissal and the original removal order, but the Ninth Circuit rejected both petitions. Her previous federal case remains sealed.
In her latest affidavit, Guanlao emphasized her family’s deep ties to the community, noting that she and her husband have lived in Saipan since the 1990s, have no criminal record, and have two U.S. citizen children in college.
“I am one of the garment victims here in Saipan that needs help,” Guanlao wrote. “I am already traumatized, mentally and physically drained. I humbly ask the court to help me so I can have peace of mind.”
