LAFC Fights to Stop Deportation of Heroin Smuggler
In 1997, the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago (LAFC) filed a lawsuit to stop the deportation of a legal alien even though he was a convicted heroin smuggler. The case began in 1992 when Albert Ekekhor, a Nigerian national, was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport for attempting to smuggle cocaine into the United States. Ekekhor pled guilty and was incarcerated. After serving his jail term, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) arrested Ekekhor and prepared to deport him from the country for his drug crime. However, LAFC took up Ekekhor’s cause and initiated litigation to thwart his deportation. In the opening round to what will likely be a long, drawn-out court battle, LAFC lawyers overturned the INS’s initial decision to deny Ekekhor parole while awaiting his deportation hearing. INS officials argued that federal law allows them to keep in custody any alien convicted of an aggravated felony in view of the serious risk he may pose the rest of society. However, LAFC lawyers successfully argued that the INS had violated Ekekhor’s right to due process.
See Ekekhor v. Aljets, 979 F. Supp. 640, U.S. Dist. Ct.,
1997
Legal Services Fights Drug-Related Eviction
In 1997, the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago (LAFC) tried to
stop the eviction of a woman who was involved in drug dealing. The privately-run
Boulevard Commons Apartments ordered the eviction of Anna Bell in February,
1995 after police informed them that she let drug dealers use her apartment.
According to police reports, on off-duty officer had observed several men
selling cocaine on the back porch of Bell’s apartment. When the officer
tried to arrest them, they ran into her apartment and escaped. Two days
later, the same officer again observed men dealing drugs on Bell’s back
porch. With the assistance of police back-up units, one man was arrested
while attempting to escape through the residence. He was found to be carrying
illegal drugs. Police determined that Bell knew of and permitted the drug
crimes to occur. However, LAFC lawyers resorted to a variety of tactics
to overturn the eviction order. LAFC claimed Bell did not know that drugs
were being sold in the apartment. A state court handily rejected that argument
since police had twice chased drug dealers through the apartment -- in
one instance busting down the door -- while Bell was present.
See Prairie Management Corp. v. Bell, 289 Ill. App. 3d 746,
1997
LAFC Opposes Deportation of Gang Members Who Are Illegal Aliens
The Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago is opposing a highly successful
law enforcement strategy that deports gang members who are illegal aliens.
The strategy was recently adopted by Chicago area police agencies in an
attempt to crack down on a soaring rate of gang violence. It seems many
of the gang members arrested for shootings and other violent crimes were
in the country illegally. Rather than send them through the lengthy court
process, police started turning the criminal aliens over to the Immigration
and Naturalization Service (INS) for deportation. The results have been
impressive. In the city of Elgin for instance, the number of gang-related
shootings fell from a record high of 81 in 1995 to just eight in the first
seven months of 1997. Despite these statistics, LAFC lawyers condemned
the policy as discriminatory because it creates the impression “that all
undocumented people are gang members.”
See Krystyna Slivinski, “INS Partnership Anchors War On Gangs,”
Chicago Tribune, Sept. 2, 1997, pg. 1