James "Lefty" Lee

Country of Origin: Hong Kong

Currently LIving In: New York

James knows New York like the back of his hand. He and his parents moved from Hong Kong to the Bronx in 1973. James went to school in the City. He has lived in three of the five boroughs, worked for UPS, and raised two American born children. James has also made mistakes here. In November 2000 he pled guilty to fraud and served six months. On the very last day of his sentence, hours before he expected to return home, the INS came after him. Within a week the INS transferred him from Passaic County Jail, New Jersey to a notorious detention clearinghouse in Oakdale, Louisiana. He was held without a bond hearing for two years. His New York based lawyer was supposed to defend him against life exile over the phone, but missed hearing appointments four times. James was left to defend himself pro se.

The INS insisted that James only had the rights of a greencard holder. But James was convinced that he is a US citizen: his parents are citizens. He had registered for the draft. His wife is Puerto Rican. China does not even recognize him as a national because he was born in Hong Kong and reared in the US. The INS tried to deport James to China while he had a petition pending in court. Luckily they could not get travel documents immediately. The delay permitted James' case to reach a district judge who ruled that James is in fact a national of the United States.

James is back home now and says, 'Detention is worse than prison because you never know when it's going to end. I spent 2 years in INS hell. I know guys who have been there 3 or 4 years. I'm glad I fought for my freedom. But I shouldn't have gone through all that. This is America, right?'

Total Estimated Cost of Detention: $54,000