VIDALIA, La.— A Vidalia woman who operated the Gold Bowl restaurant along with her husband was apparently ordered to be removed from the country on Dec. 30. 2019.
The popular Chinese restaurant at 4006 Carter St. in Vidalia has been closed since officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended Lin a little more than a week ago.
An officer at the New Orleans office of ICE would not provide any information about the raid or the detainees. However, records within the U.S. Immigration Court System show an immigration court in Elizabeth, N.J., ordered Qin Lin removed from the U.S. on Dec. 30, 2019.
Lin appealed the removal decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which dismissed the case on June 9, 2020, upholding the removal.
Michael Gahagan, an immigration attorney operating in New Orleans and Lafayette, said after the Board of Appeals rules on an appeal to a decision, an immigrant can petition to the U.S. Fifth District Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to hear their case.
According to records in the immigration court system, no other court proceedings are scheduled for Lin.
No information was available as to whether she remains in the country or has been deported.
Gahagan said anyone on American soil is entitled to due process.
"When detained, immigrants are given a notice to appear and charge documents. That's where you have factual allegations presented and legal charges as to what part of immigration law has been violated," he said.
The immigrant is given a notice to appear in immigration court.
"It's called a master calendar hearing, which is kind of like an arraignment and the immigrant answers how they plead to the charges," Gahagan said.
The individual merit hearing is like a full-blown trial, he said, in which both sides can produce witnesses, exhibits and the like.
"They can also apply for relief. The judge will either grant relief, dismiss charges or order the person be deported," Gahagan said.
"If the person is not satisfied with the ruling, they can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals in Virginia. At that point, everything is done through briefs. If they are not satisfied with that ruling, they can petition the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans," he said.