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Judge Sunia says there is 'need' for an immigration detention center

District Court Judge Fiti Sunia
Three more men remanded to custody due to immigration issues
blue@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — "I can't stress enough, the need for an immigration detention center," District Court Judge Fiti Sunia said to Assistant Attorney General Laura Garvey and co-counsel Jason Mitchell this past Monday, after three defendants were remanded to custody at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) due to their immigration statuses.

It was during the initial appearance for Lalomaiava Mui that Sunia made the comment.

During court proceedings, defense attorney, Assistant Public Defender Anna Wells informed the court that neither her, nor her client, ever received a copy of the traffic citations, for which Mui was arrested and being charged.

When Sunia inquired about Mui's immigration status, an immigration officer who was present in court explained that Mui entered the territory on a 14-day permit on November 1, 2018 and he was sponsored by the Methodist Church. It was also revealed that Mui's legal last name is Su'a.

Sunia asked whether a church is allowed to apply — and get approval — for 14-day permits, to which the immigration officer said yes, as long as the traveler is here for church purposes.

Mui's sponsor was not in court Monday and because of his immigration status, he was remanded to custody. A status hearing on the matter is scheduled for today, January 3rd, per a request from counsel Wells.

Sunia denied bond and ordered a pretrial conference for Feb. 1, 2019.

"Hopefully from now until then, someone is able to resolve this problem, from the immigration standpoint," Sunia said.

Another overstayer, Noel Tan Jr., also made his initial appearance on Monday. It was revealed that Tan's immigration documents expired January 12, 2017, and his sponsor is off island.

He, too, was remanded to custody and bond was denied. His pretrial conference is set for Feb. 1, 2019.

The third defendant was Soane Taafua.

When asked by Sunia, Taafua said he was born here. According to him, his father passed away, and his mother — who has been off island for two months — has all his documents.

This past Monday, Sunia ordered Taafua to be remanded to custody without bond, saying the  court "is not satisfied" that the defendant has established his identity and nationality.