ACLJ: Resignation Of Acting IRS Commissioner "Does Not Solve Any Of The Problems" Of A Tainted And Politically-Driven IRS -- Independent Counsel Must Investigate

WASHINGTON, May 15, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which represents nearly 30 Tea Party organizations nationwide, said today's announcement by President Obama accepting the resignation of acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller does not go far enough.

"President Obama continues to fail to show leadership as this IRS scandal continues to expand," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. "The resignation of acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller does not solve any of the problems of this tainted and politically-driven agency. The announcement comes just hours after the IRS attempted to blame this abhorrent conduct on a couple of rogue IRS agents out of the Cincinnati office. The American people and our clients deserve much more. There are many questions that President Obama failed to address including why his Attorney General is heading up this investigation. The fact is an independent counsel needs to be appointed - with no ties or allegiance to this president. The IRS scheme to target conservative groups because of their thoughts and ideological positions is both unconscionable and intolerable. It is also actionable. We continue to move forward in preparing a federal lawsuit on behalf of our clients - a complaint that could be filed as early as next week."

The ACLJ represents 27 Tea Party organizations targeted by the IRS. Fifteen have received tax-exempt status. Ten are still pending and the subject of a demand letter sent to the IRS – demanding that those clients by granted tax-exempt status immediately. Two other organizations withdrew because of frustration with the IRS.

The IRS contends this intimidation strategy was confined to "low-level" employees out of its office in Cincinnati.

The fact is that the ACLJ's clients have received letters from Cincinnati, but also from two offices in California, El Monte and Laguna Niguel as well as the national office in Washington, D.C. In fact, the Washington office sent a letter to one of our clients as recently as one month ago.

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), focusing on constitutional law, is based in Washington, D.C. and is online at www.aclj.org.

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SOURCE American Center for Law and Justice

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Mentally deficient immigrant detainees get counsel

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal officials are implementing a new policy that guarantees legal counsel to detained immigrants who can't represent themselves because of severe mental disorders or conditions that render them mentally incompetent.

The national policy announced by Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security officials this week comes after a yearslong legal fight led by the American Civil Liberties Union through a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles.

"Providing legal representation to people with significant mental disabilities is not only legally sound, but also the only humane way to run our immigration system," said Ahilan Arulanantham, an attorney with the ACLU of Southern California and the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project.

About 34,000 immigrants are detained daily and more than 1,000 of them have mental disabilities of some kind, according to the ACLU.

In 2010, the ACLU won a right to representation for two mentally disabled men who spent years in custody. Both were legal residents facing deportation after criminal convictions.

The lawsuit was filed by José Antonio Franco-Gonzalez, a Mexican immigrant with a cognitive disability who was detained in federal immigration facilities for nearly five years without a hearing or a lawyer. The Costa Mesa man, now 33, was forced to represent himself even though he functions at the mental level of a child and cannot tell time or remember his birthday.

That year the lawsuit was expanded to class-action status, and U.S. District Court Judge Dolly M. Gee ruled in the ACLU's favor Tuesday. According to the ACLU, it applies to certain detainees now held in Arizona, California and Washington.

The new policy includes competency hearings for detainees and a screening process for serious mental disorders.

A qualified representative will be made available to unrepresented detainees deemed unable to represent themselves, federal officials said.

The new procedures are expected to be fully implemented across the country by the end of this year.

The ACLU was aided in the case by Public Counsel, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Mental Health Advocacy Services and the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell.

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