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Representative urges House to ensure legal resources for immigrants amid personal account of detention struggles
Summary
During floor consideration of committee reports, Representative Grandinetti described a staff member's family member detained by ICE and urged support for a measure to provide legal resources to immigrants; she said immigration proceedings are civil and do not guarantee counsel under the Sixth Amendment.
Representative Grandinetti addressed the House during floor consideration to urge support for a measure aimed at assisting immigrants with access to legal representation.
Grandinetti recounted a personal account from her office manager, saying the manager’s aunt — described as a lawful permanent resident who moved to Hawaii at age 14 and is now 64 — was detained at an ICE facility in Tacoma and faced a months-long wait for an immigration court hearing. Grandinetti said the family was paying "thousands and thousands of dollars" for legal representation and that the aunt’s next available hearing date might not be until July.
Grandinetti noted a constitutional distinction on the House floor: "Under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution, all people who live in The United States have the right to legal counsel in criminal proceedings regardless of immigration status. Ironically, because immigration related proceedings are civil, not criminal, this right is not guaranteed in cases like the one Emily's family is encountering." She said the measure under consideration "would respect the rights of our immigrant community and ensure they have access to the resources they need for a fair and just court proceeding," and stated she "stand[s] in strong support of this measure."
Other floor participants registered positions and reservations on related reports, but the transcript does not record a roll-call on the specific measure in question during the excerpt provided. Grandinetti framed her remarks as both a policy argument and an expression of solidarity with her staff member.
