Wiseman vacates deport order vs Castillo

Superior Court Associate Judge David A. Wiseman yesterday vacated the deportation order that he previously issued against a man who had been tagged as a former member of the notorious Philippine-based terrorist group Abu Sayyaf.

Wiseman said that, after reviewing the transcript of the order to show cause hearing resulting in the deportation order against Roger Castillo, he acknowledges that his previous order, although ostensibly based on two separate grounds, relied on one “clearly erroneous” ground.

The court’s deportation order had been based on the erroneous ground that Castillo had been convicted of two misdemeanors—and was consequently deportable under the law—when in fact the respondent had only been convicted of one misdemeanor.

“Given that respondent’s due process rights are already significantly limited in a deportation proceeding, the court feels that he is entitled to a proceeding which states a clear factual basis [that] satisfies the legal requirements for deportation from the Commonwealth,” said the judge in granting Castillo’s motion to vacate the order.

Wiseman ordered the government and Castillo to appear for a status conference tomorrow at 1:30pm.

Court records show that the Public Defender’s Office had objected to the Attorney General’s Office’s filing of a deportation case against Castillo on Dec. 29, 2005.

With the filing of the case, Wiseman issued an arrest warrant for Castillo. The respondent was then arrested in Garapan on Dec. 31, 2005.

At the Jan. 5, 2006 hearing, Wiseman ordered Castillo’s deportation. The respondent had no lawyer at the hearing.

Acting Chief Public Defender Elisa A. Long protested on behalf of Castillo. She filed a motion to vacate the deportation order and requested for a stay in the execution of the order.

Long asserted that assistant attorney general Ian Catlett elicited false testimony from a witness, Immigration Officer Edwin Flores, who testified that Castillo had been convicted twice of assaulting his wife.

Long said that at the deportation hearing, Catlett untruthfully argued to the court that Castillo should be deported because he had been convicted of two misdemeanors and because his nonresident worker’s entry permit expired in March 2005.

The chief public defender noted that on Dec. 27, 2005, Castillo entered into a plea agreement with the government pertaining to his two criminal cases in 2004.

Pursuant to the agreement that was accepted by the court, Castillo pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count and he was subsequently sentenced to the maximum of one year in prison, Long said.

Castillo was released from government custody on Dec. 28, 2005, then arrested again after a few days because of the deportation case.

Long said the judge apparently believed Catlett’s representation of Castillo’s criminal record to be accurate, and the court did not make any clear findings regarding the entry permit issue.

But Catlett, in response to the motion, questioned Long’s authority to enter an appearance for Castillo. Catlett said the respondent is not entitled to counsel in civil immigration matter before the court at the expense of the taxpayers of the CNMI.

Catlett asserted that by filing the motions, Long “is knowingly exceeding her legal mandate and, in effect, practicing law without a license to do so.”

On Jan. 10, 2006, Wiseman stayed the execution of deportation order pending the disposition of Castillo’s motion to vacate the deportation proceedings.

Wiseman heard the motion to vacate on Jan. 19. Catlett appeared for the government. Private attorney Mark Hanson volunteered to substitute for Long as counsel for Castillo.

The allegation linking Castillo to the Abu Sayyaf was contained in a police report in which Castillo’s wife made the statement to investigators. It was never proven in court.

Castillo told the Saipan Tribune that he’s been on Saipan for 17 years already and he never went back to the Philippines. He admitted he had been with the special forces in the Philippine military for three years.

Castillo said that perhaps his wife misunderstood his statement when he tried to explain to her before that he was with the military and that one of their missions was to infiltrate the enemy.

Many friends of Castillo also doubted the Abu Sayyaf allegations.

Abu Sayyaf is a terrorist militant Islamic group operating in the southern part of the Philippines. The group was responsible for the spate of bombings, assassinations and kidnappings of foreigners, priests, businessmen, teachers and even ordinary citizens.