Expedited Trials of Illegal Immigrants Are Questioned

Washington Post Staff Writer Criminal defense and immigration lawyers yesterday challenged the government's use of expedited trials to convict 306 illegal immigrant workers at a meat processing plant in Iowa in May, arguing that fast-tracked group trials violated defendants' rights. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee's immigration panel, said after a day-long hearing that she found the Justice Department's actions against workers at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville, Iowa, "to be unusual and provocative, and I do have questions about whether they meet the requirements of due process that is guaranteed in our Constitution." A Justice Department official, Deborah J. Rhodes, said all defendants were provided with criminal defense lawyers and interpreters, as well as access to... [read full story]