Why was 4-year-old American girl deported?

[trillium13 84]

Under our system, two things are crystal clear: Law enforcement agencies are required to treat children with more care than adults, and U.S. citizens have certain rights that are not to be abridged -- including the right to due process.

Just don't try telling any of that to the parents of Emily Ruiz. They know better. Those principles didn't apply in the case of the 4-year-old from Brentwood, New York, who -- after traveling to Guatemala to visit relatives with her grandfather -- was denied entry into the United States on March 11 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and instead sent back to Guatemala.

That is no way to treat a U.S. citizen. You see, while both of her parents are illegal immigrants, Emily was born in the United States and so she is a U.S. citizen. That is supposed to mean something in this country. At the very least, it should mean that authorities shouldn't have done anything more than greet the little girl with a polite and sincere: "Welcome home."

Instead, according to her family's attorney, Emily was detained alone for several hours at Dulles International Airport while authorities tried to figure out what to do and while her grandfather was treated for what seemed to be a panic attack.

"It's outrageous," David Sperling, the family's attorney, told me. "Effectively, she (Emily) was deported. They treated her like an 'anchor baby,' like a second-class citizen. I can't imagine that they would treat any other U.S. citizen this way."

Speaking of so-called anchor babies, an offensive term used by some on the right to describe the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants who supposedly keep their parents anchored in the United States, this case shows that the whole concept is bogus. Emily couldn't even keep herself anchored in the United States, let alone her parents.

I asked Sperling if he believed that Emily was treated shoddily because she is Latina.

"Absolutely," he said. "If this was a Caucasian girl from some European country, this would never have happened."

According to multiple accounts, here is what happened. At the end of their stay in Guatemala, Emily and her grandfather boarded a plane to return to New York. The grandfather had a work visa and a notarized letter from Emily's parents authorizing him to travel with her. The girl had a U.S. passport. But because of bad weather, the flight was diverted to Washington.

2 more pages:

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-23/opinion/navarrette.child.deported_1_illegal-immigrants-anchor-babies-american-girl?_s=PM:OPINION

[nane1104 146]

WOW!

Just the fact that she was detained alone at the airport makes me furious!

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

This is nonsense.

The girl is a US citizen. She arrived at the POE with her grandfather. Grandpa has a work visa, but when scanning his passport CBP found out that he violated the terms of his visa. So the grandfather was denied entry into the US, not the girl.

CBP then called the girl's parents to pick her up at the airport. Since both parents are illegal aliens, they chose not to do that. CBP then had the option to call child protective services and put the girl in a foster home, or ask grandpa if he would choose to take her home with her. Grandpa had temporary custody of the girl and took her home with her.

The girl was not deported.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

This is nonsense.

The girl is a US citizen. She arrived at the POE with her grandfather. Grandpa has a work visa, but when scanning his passport CBP found out that he violated the terms of his visa. So the grandfather was denied entry into the US, not the girl.

CBP then called the girl's parents to pick her up at the airport. Since both parents are illegal aliens, they chose not to do that. CBP then had the option to call child protective services and put the girl in a foster home, or ask grandpa if he would choose to take her home with her. Grandpa had temporary custody of the girl and took her home with her.

The girl was not deported.

Yep, in another story where they go into more detail. Grandfather had an illegal entry against him for a 10 year ban. They attempted to get the parents there, but since they have an illegal status they didn't come. So the only other choice that CBP has was the protective services.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

This is nonsense.

The girl is a US citizen. She arrived at the POE with her grandfather. Grandpa has a work visa, but when scanning his passport CBP found out that he violated the terms of his visa. So the grandfather was denied entry into the US, not the girl.

CBP then called the girl's parents to pick her up at the airport. Since both parents are illegal aliens, they chose not to do that. CBP then had the option to call child protective services and put the girl in a foster home, or ask grandpa if he would choose to take her home with her. Grandpa had temporary custody of the girl and took her home with her.

The girl was not deported.

I completely agree.

The grandfather had temporary custody. The entire argument by Navarrette Jr. that the father should have been able to pick her up because ICE doesn't arrest and deport every illegal it comes into contact is flawed. ICE does have the discretion to do so. What if ICE acted within its authority to arrest the parents? The child would have ended up in foster care. Better to go with the grandfather than into the foster care system if the parents are arrested.

Edited March 27, 2011 by Jojo92122

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

And . . . now that the story has hit the media, I would not be surprised if ICE were to visit the illegal alien parents anyway. The parents surely made their priorities clear.

[Dan and Judy 614]

[4-year-old Emily Ruiz is stuck in an immigration quagmire.STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• She will try to return to the United States on Wednesday, her lawyer said
• Emily Ruiz, 4, a U.S. citizen, was stopped at an airport
• She was traveling with her Guatemalan grandfather, who was denied entry

(CNN) -- A 4-year-old U.S. citizen who was unable to enter the country this month because of a possible communications mix-up is expected to attempt the journey again on Wednesday, according to her lawyer.

"It's a grave injustice that she has been separated from her parents for so long and we're here to rectify that situation," said lawyer David Sperling, in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Emily Ruiz, the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants living in New York without documentation, had spent five months recuperating from asthma while visiting with her grandparents in Guatemala, Sperling said. When her grandfather accompanied her on a flight back to the United States on March 11, he was stopped by a customs official at Dulles International Airport in suburban Virginia for an immigration violation dating back some 20 years, the lawyer said.

He was denied entry into the United States, and that placed Emily in the middle of an immigration quagmire. According to her family, immigration officials gave her parents two options: Emily could be sent to Guatemala with her grandfather, or she could be turned over to state custody. She returned to Central America.

"She was basically deported to Guatemala, not in the legal sense, but effectively this is what happened," Sperling said. "We're not here to criticize the government; really, we do not know who is responsible for this."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said last week that they offered to have the parents pick Emily up.

"CBP strives to reunite U.S. citizen children with their parents. If the parents choose not to take custody of their children, CBP works with other agencies to ensure the children's safety and well being, up to and including releasing them into the custody of other relatives," spokesman Lloyd M. Sterling said. "In this case, the parents were offered to pick up the child, but elected to have her returned to Guatemala with her grandfather."

Officials say they gave Emily's father the opportunity to pick her up, because she is a U.S. citizen. The father, who speaks limited English, said he did not understand if that was indeed offered.

CNN's Adriana Hauser contributed to this report

Were the parents afraid to pick her up because they thought they might get deported also? Isn't that still possible? 5 months voluntary separation from your 4 year old and now we "a grave injustice"
http://www.cnn.com/2...?iref=obnetwork Edited March 30, 2011 by Dan and Judy

[Dan and Judy 614]

Girl, unable to enter U.S., will try again

By the CNN Wire StaffcnnAuthor = "By the CNN Wire Staff"; if(location.hostname.indexOf( 'edition.' ) > -1) {document.write('March 29, 2011 -- Updated 1557 GMT (2357 HKT)');} else {document.write('March 29, 2011 11:57 a.m. EDT');}March 29, 2011 11:57 a.m. EDTvar clickExpire = "-1";4-year-old Emily Ruiz is stuck in an immigration quagmire.STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• She will try to return to the United States on Wednesday, her lawyer said
• Emily Ruiz, 4, a U.S. citizen, was stopped at an airport
• She was traveling with her Guatemalan grandfather, who was denied entry

(CNN) -- A 4-year-old U.S. citizen who was unable to enter the country this month because of a possible communications mix-up is expected to attempt the journey again on Wednesday, according to her lawyer.

"It's a grave injustice that she has been separated from her parents for so long and we're here to rectify that situation," said lawyer David Sperling, in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Emily Ruiz, the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants living in New York without documentation, had spent five months recuperating from asthma while visiting with her grandparents in Guatemala, Sperling said. When her grandfather accompanied her on a flight back to the United States on March 11, he was stopped by a customs official at Dulles International Airport in suburban Virginia for an immigration violation dating back some 20 years, the lawyer said.

He was denied entry into the United States, and that placed Emily in the middle of an immigration quagmire. According to her family, immigration officials gave her parents two options: Emily could be sent to Guatemala with her grandfather, or she could be turned over to state custody. She returned to Central America.

"She was basically deported to Guatemala, not in the legal sense, but effectively this is what happened," Sperling said. "We're not here to criticize the government; really, we do not know who is responsible for this."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said last week that they offered to have the parents pick Emily up.

"CBP strives to reunite U.S. citizen children with their parents. If the parents choose not to take custody of their children, CBP works with other agencies to ensure the children's safety and well being, up to and including releasing them into the custody of other relatives," spokesman Lloyd M. Sterling said. "In this case, the parents were offered to pick up the child, but elected to have her returned to Guatemala with her grandfather."

Officials say they gave Emily's father the opportunity to pick her up, because she is a U.S. citizen. The father, who speaks limited English, said he did not understand if that was indeed offered.

[Dan and Judy 614]

that's what the first post looked like and then I think when I added the link, I lost the picture and it added a bunch of garbage words, which I then tried to edit out??

[Dan and Judy 614]

that's what the first post looked like and then I think when I added the link, I lost the picture and it added a bunch of garbage words, which I then tried to edit out??

[Ban Hammer 13,445]

that's what the first post looked like and then I think when I added the link, I lost the picture and it added a bunch of garbage words, which I then tried to edit out??

use preview post first, that prevents posts like the first one.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Thread on already post topic moved from OT forum and merged with existing posted article in Immigration News and Discussion forum

[Dakine10 5,452]

Girl, 4, reunited with family after possible communications mix-up.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/03/30/guatemala.girl.returns/index.html?hpt=T2