Anton Camaj, formerly of Montenegro when it was part of Yugoslavia, is fighting to remain in the United States, where he has lived for the past 16 years.

 

Camaj was ordered to attend three immigration hearings back in 1995, the last of which he was late for by 40 minutes after the venue was changed from the previous two hearings. That tardiness led to the immigration judge ordering Camaj’s deportation, even though he showed up only six minutes after the decision was handed down.

 

The 43-year-old painter, who lives in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills, appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which declined to hear his case despite the fact that the justices described his situation as a “miscarriage of justice.”

 

Camaj finally caught a break when another immigration judge agreed to reopen his case with the consent of the U.S. Department of Justice.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Tardiness Costs Man Shot at Political Asylum (Courthouse News Service)

Lawyer: Feds to Reopen Mich. Man's Asylum Case (by Ed White, Associated Press)

Anton Camaj v. Eric Holder (Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals) (pdf)