Judge Temporarily Forbids Deportation Of New Bedford Immigrants

BOSTON (AP) – A judge in Boston today issued ten-day restraining order barring the deportation of illegal immigrants snared in a Massachusetts factory.

The workers were transported to sites in Port Isabel and El Paso, Texas.

US District Court Judge Richard Stearns granted an emergency request from lawyers for the detained immigrants now being held in Texas detention centers.

They argued that at least 100 of the workers may have agreed to waive deportation hearings under duress or with improper translators.

More than 360 workers were rounded up at Michael Bianco Incorporated. The court order also requires the government to turn over all names and locations of immigrants held outside of Massachusetts who voluntarily agreed to deportation.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) AP-NY-04-06-07 1707EDT