Boston Chief Federal Judge Criticizes New Law on Deportations

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http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBGPDI03BE.html

Boston's Chief Federal Judge Criticizes New Law on Deportations
By Michael Kunzelman
Associated Press Writer

BOSTON (AP) - The chief judge of U.S. District Court in Boston lashed out at Congress on Tuesday for putting what he called a "chokehold" on all federal district courts, stripping them of the authority to rule on deportation cases.

In a scathing ruling, Judge William G. Young said he had been prepared to halt the deportation of a Nigerian national who says the government promised he could stay in the United States after he was charged with drug smuggling in 1986.

But Young said Congress took that decision out of his hands in May when it passed the REAL ID Act, a law that makes it harder for immigrants to gain amnesty.

"Though such direct congressional interference in a pending case is virtually unprecedented in all our history, this surprising mandate has gone utterly unnoticed by our people," Young said. "How can this be in modern day America?" Instead, Young said he was required by law to transfer the case of 56-year-old Frank Enwonwu to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

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