Defense Lawyers: Some Witnesses Deported Too Soon

"Defense attorneys and public defenders across the country say Garcia's case illustrates what has become a troubling, systemic problem in the criminal justice system.  They say defendants facing charges including murder, human smuggling, alien harboring and employing illegal immigrants are having a hard time keeping people who could help in their defense in the country.  They blame a fractured federal justice system, where government prosecutors select who they want to use as witnesses, and the rest get deported by federal immigration officials." - Alan Gomez, USA Today, Nov. 13, 2012.