Legal Immigrant Awaits Word As Deportation Case Heads To Supreme Court
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A legal immigrant who has been busted three separate times for misdemeanor drug possession faces the possibility of being deported as the Supreme Court hears arguments surrounding his case. NY1's Rebecca Spitz filed the following report.Looking at a photo of his baby daughter, Elvis Martinez says he doesn't want to leave New York, but there's a chance he might have to. He's a legal permanent resident but he has also been convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana three times.
Although each was only a misdemeanor, that could be enough to send him back to the Dominican Republic after spending more than two decades in the city. The way it looks now, the U.S. Supreme Court will have the final say.
"I do not want to go back. I came here since I was seven years old, I've been in this country over 21, 22 years," Martinez said.
On Wednesday, the court heard oral arguments about how the government interprets immigration law, specifically a federal law that says multiple misdemeanor drug convictions considered together amount to an aggravated felony punishable by deportation.
Two federal circuit courts have upheld that view. Four others, including New York, have rejected it.
"Sometimes one circuit disagrees with another circuit and that's often when the Supreme Court will take a case when the circuits disagree. This is a case where the circuits do disagree and there needs to be some kind of clarity so the law is equal throughout the United States," said Martinez' attorney Kerry Bretz.
Martinez immigrated from the Dominican Republic in1989, Bretz has represented him since 2003. That's when Martinez started nearly five years in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; fighting for his right to apply for relief from deportation.
"Eventually we got the case into U.S. court of appeals for the 2nd circuit which held in a published decision these are not aggravated felonies and therefore he would be eligible for relief," Bretz said.
Because of that, Martinez is no longer being held. But until the Supreme Court rules, the cloud of possible deportation still hangs over him.
For now, Martinez does cleaning work at Yankee Stadium and is studying for his GED. He says these days he mostly keeps to himself.
"I don't do anything. I just work, stay home, go to my girl's house and be with my daughter," Martinez said.
It will likely be months before the Supreme Court issues a decision, but Martinez will be waiting, hoping to hear something before the court recesses in August.