Some immigrants face Catch-22 as ICE takes a harder line on detention

The shackled man standing before immigration Judge Kristin Olmanson could make a case to stay in the United States. It helped that his in-laws, his ex-wife, his ex-mother-in-law and his son — all U.S. citizens — had turned out at the Fort Snelling courtroom to vouch for him.

But Miguel Ceja-Virgen also had a domestic assault charge pending against him. That, Olmanson said, placed him in a "Catch-22 situation," along with a rising number of immigrants in Minnesota: They could qualify for a reprieve from deportation, or in rarer cases even legal status, if they resolve criminal charges against them. But that's hard to do while behind bars in immigration custody.

http://www.startribune.com/some-immigrants-face-catch-22-as-ice-takes-a-harder-line-on-detention/436369393/