Judge hears case of deportees subpoenaed by legislators

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Lawyers for two longtime Connecticut residents who were deported to Italy have asked a federal judge to allow them to return to testify before state legislators.

U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant in Hartford heard arguments Monday in the case of Arnold Giammarco and Paula Milardo, who have been denied permission to return to Connecticut.

Giammarco and Milardo immigrated legally to Connecticut in the early 1960s when they were children. They were deported several years ago because of criminal convictions.

A state legislative committee has subpoenaed them to testify at an April 4 hearing on how criminal convictions and deportation affect immigrant families.

Federal immigration officials argue Giammarco and Milardo do not need to be in Connecticut to submit testimony.

The judge did not issue a ruling Monday.