For two and a half years Astrid Morataya languished behind bars,
living out a double punishment for a sentence she had already served.
The single mother of three had paid her time for
a minor drug charge buried long in her past. But then 15 years later
cops showed up at Morataya's door once again.
Police threw her into jail, this time along with
an order of deportation. And like thousands of immigrants detained
nationwide, Morataya would spend years behind bars, all the while trying
to prove she had the legal right to stay in the United States.
The right of due process is a core tenet of
American values. But the issue before the U.S. Supreme Court in oral
arguments on Wednesday raises fundamental questions about the scope of
those rights for immigrants.
Does the federal government have the authority
to detain immigrants indefinitely? Or, should immigrants be given the
opportunity for release on bond — like all U.S. citizens — once their
detention time exceeds a certain limit?
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