Two longtime Connecticut residents deported to Italy because of criminal convictions have been denied permission to return to the U.S. to testify before state legislators.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week rejected the humanitarian parole applications of Paula Milardo and Arnold Giammarco. They were subpoenaed to an April hearing before Connecticut lawmakers about how criminal convictions affect immigrant families.
The agency said Milardo and Giammarco don't need to appear in person to provide testimony.
Yale Law School students representing Milardo and Giammarco intend to appeal the rejections to federal court this week.
Milardo and Giammarco moved to Connecticut legally in the early 1960s when they were children.
Milardo was deported in 2011 because of a theft conviction. Giammarco was deported in 2012 because of drug and theft convictions.
