On Friday morning it was announced that Samuel Sey was released from Federal custody. His supporters mistook this for his freedom. However, his release almost certainly meant that Sey was either given an order of supervision to self deport, moved to another facility, or actively deported. It would turn out that after a little under 10 full days in custody, Samuel Sey was deported to Canada.
Annie Sey via Samuel Sey’s account announced that he had landed in Canada, where he was a permanent resident. Sey’s overstay in America could have lapsed this immigration status as well. Nevertheless, Canada was willing to take Sey back, which, for the time being, will eliminate any hardship exceptions necessary for Sey to return to the United States.
The Lying Defense
Annie Sey insists that she and Samuel sincerely believed they were following the legal process, but this is a farce. Samuel Sey entered the United States on a B-2 tourist visa which he got applying in Calgary, Canada, the US consulate that exclusively handles nonimmigrant visas. Sey got to the United States and did an interview with Allie Stuckey where he declared his intent to stay after getting married.
Almost everyone with an immigrant spouse could tell you that its not that easy. Sey’s B-2 tourist visa expired and he overstayed. Sey was interrogated in Calgary to ensure his travel would be a two-way trip, and signed papers acknowledging his tourism intentions to get the visa in the first place. It’s clear that Sey lied to get the visa and his bride. Samuel Sey thought he could cut the line for legal immigration.
But he had no means of applying for permanent legal residence without first leaving the country which he never did, instead lamenting how he could not return to Canada, as that would threaten his legal status here.
It’s fascinating that the wife, in the best-case scenario, had been lied to about about the validity of the paperwork this entire time, is peddling the lie of Sey’s attempt to navigate the process legally. Sey could not do that from Ohio. It’s also hard to imagine how she was in the dark come tax season when she had to report his unauthorized income.
Sey’s Guilt
David Morrill of Protestia has made presumption of innocence a staple of his coverage, but this is incorrect. DHS already announced that Sey accepted voluntary deportation on Sunday. This meant that Sey accepted his guilt and removability for his illegal alien status. When Sey accepted voluntary deportation, he agreed to waive his right to an appeal, concede his removability, and withdraw his pending applications. This might also be why they said Sey had no pending applications, or it could be that, as an illegal alien, he had no real standing to file. Sey already acquiesced to his guilt.
Samuel Sey has an automatic 10 year ban for overstaying by more than a year, and will have a permanent ban if they assent to him having committed willful misrepresentation, for which the evidence is damning.
