At the intersection of zero-tolerance policies, uncommon leniency
In a story from the San Francisco Chronicle today, an unusual result came out of the immigration law world – in an arena where flexibility can be rare, a family got an extension on their deportation proceedings. This case highlights an interesting intersection between two worlds which often report zero-tolerance policies: immigration and school security. The case of the Washingtons was brought to the attention of immigration officials because their 13 year old son was in a fight at school and stole 46 cents from another boy. While in the past, issues like this were dealt with through school disciplinary hearings (the boy likely would have been suspended for a few days and faced an extended bout of detention), now schools are increasingly partnered with the criminal justice system. So in this story, the 13 year old was charged with felony offenses of robbery, assault, and extortion, which mandated reporting to immigration.
So far the Washingtons have avoided the potential extreme consequences of these actions, but many other families are not so lucky and can face permanent deportation for actions which in the past would never have been in the bailiwick of the criminal justice system.