Salvatore Mancuso's lawyers and Justice Department officials asked a district judge in Washington on Thursday to keep your process frozen since an asylum request that the paramilitary submitted two years ago has yet to be resolved and that is still making its progress before the immigration authorities.
However, in the status report that they presented to Judge Richard León, they suggest that This process could already be in its last weeks.
In August of last year, the parties wrote an almost identical document to Judge León in which they asked him to continue postponing the process but informed him that Mancuso had already been denied his right to asylum and only one appeal was pending before the Immigration Board. who usually has the last word in this type of process.
On that occasion, they told him that they would present a status report this February 22 (six months later) with any update on the case. Since his trial began before this Washington court, that has been the periodicity of the status reports.
However, in the new document, the parties tell the judge that they will contact him again no later than March 25. That is, in just over a month. And, as on previous occasions, they inform him that if a resolution is presented in the immigration authorities they would inform him immediately.
The imminence of a new status report and the length of time that Mancuso's case has already been before the Immigration Board (since May of last year) suggest that the resolution is imminent. In fact, news has spread throughout the country that Mancuso could return in the next two weeks.
Although that is likely, The paramilitary still has the case in Washington before Judge León as a last resort to remain in the United States..
In this process, the former paramilitary alleges that Chad Wolfe, then US Secretary of Homeland Security, violated the law by not deporting him to Italy within the established times after the end of payment of his sentence in the US.
In fact, Mancuso's deportation to that country seemed like a fact until September 2020 when Wolfe, one day before the date set for his deportation, changed his mind and said he would be sent to Colombia.
Mancuso's defense elevated a petition to León asking him to prevent his deportation until the case was resolved. Something Leon agreed with..
Despite this, this process did not have many months left because the administration's argument for deporting Mancuso to Colombia and not to Italy is very solid and is based on the power that the government has to make a final decision for the sake of its national interest.
The case before León was frozen once Mancuso began his asylum request process before the immigration courts because the judge could not make a final decision until it was resolved whether, in fact, the former paramilitary had arguments to remain in the United States as asylum.
But since that road is already practically closed, It's only a matter of time before he returns to a Washington court where he will likely lose the case..
Once León lifts the order preventing his deportation, Mancuso would be deported immediately. It is also possible that Mancuso will withdraw that lawsuit and agree to be deported as soon as the Immigration Board's ruling is known.
SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI
EL TIEMPO correspondent
Washington
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