Reply #6: Oh, lookie! It's a frickin trend: [View All]

[struggle4progress]

April 26, 2006
News
They Could Be Citizens and They Might Be Deported
The government has jailed family-supporting, lifelong U.S. residents who seem as American as the next person—but can't prove it.
By Nina Shapiro

~snip~ Julio and Charlotte Gonzalez, whose marriage certificate was signed 21 years ago at the Precious Memories chapel in Huntington Park, Calif., are up against a challenge of Kafkaesque proportions. Julio's late mother was an American citizen, according to the Gonzalezes and a copy of a birth certificate documenting the arrival of baby Raquel Sandoval in Santa Fe, N.M., on April 4, 1934. Her parents were born in New Mexico, Julio says. Julio's father was a legal resident who worked at a chroming factory for 25 years in Arizona, where he died. Julio's wife is an American citizen, with a California birth certificate to prove it. Julio and Charlotte have four children, ranging in age from 24 to 16, all born in the U.S.

Julio has lived in this country since he was a baby, he says. Before he was born, however, his mother spent some time in Mexico, where she delivered Julio, one of her 10 children, most of whom were born in the U.S. She returned to this country in time to give Julio memories of waking up from naps and being fed orange juice and peanut butter crackers in a Los Angeles kindergarten. ~snip~

Immigration law consists of statutes that are not intuitive. "It gets complicated," says Gary Garman, who works out of the Tacoma detention center as the assistant field office director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency responsible for investigating and deporting illegal immigrants. "Most Americans have no knowledge of it." Even figuring out whether someone is a citizen or not can be tricky. Asked about Julio Gonzalez, Garman says he can't discuss specific cases but pulls out reference material. Garman discovers that if a baby is born today to an American citizen outside the country, that baby is automatically an American citizen. But because Julio was born between 1952 and 1986, he is only an American citizen if one parent was a citizen and was physically present in the U.S. for 10 years, five of which occurred after the parent was 14. ~snip~

Flipping through documents, Molloy indicates that he is not satisfied. He announces the rule that requires Gonzalez to document his mother's presence in the U.S. for 10 years, including five years after she was 14. The judge sets a date for another hearing and advises him to bring relevant documents and witnesses. ~snip~

http://www.seattleweekly.com/2006-04-26/news/they-could-be-citizens-and-they-might-be-deported.php