Thread: CA:Fresno high school valedictorian scheduled to be deported

June 20th...hmmm that gives him enough days to find a sanctuary church and hide!!

From what I heard from the mother on the podcast their case for asylum was considered and REJECTED. They had a lawyer, they went through due process........case closed. Time to go home now. We need to watch Feinstein though because she'll surely try to file a private petition for this case

Radanovich called Arthur's mother soon after her KMJ radio appearance. His staff now plans to meet with Arthur and his mom Thursday.

"We are taking a more extensive view" of the case, Radanovich said in a phone interview.

"This is a second look. ... We would be reviewing the case to see if there's anything we can do."





I don't see why it is necessary to take a "more extensive view" of the case, or a second look.

This has already been looked at upside down and inside out by attorneys and the courts. They had their day(s) in court and the answer was NO. It is not up to politicians to interfere and try to force special exceptions for this one or that one.

Looks to me that Radonovich only backtracked because Feinstein is getting more limelight. Sheesh! What a "news whore" he is.

Originally Posted by AmericanMe

Maybe someone could pursuade immmigration authorities to allow this boy to stay in the US...in exchange for all the illegal aliens from Mexico who don't even graduate from HS! I think that would be a fair exchange!

Now there's an idea.

so they have been fighting to asylum since 1992. is that what I read?

now who is to blame that something has not been taken care of in SIXTEEN YEARS... that makes no sense

Originally Posted by jamesw62

so they have been fighting to asylum since 1992. is that what I read?

now who is to blame that something has not been taken care of in SIXTEEN YEARS... that makes no sense

Her husband came in '92. She followed with the boy in '95. They applied for asylum and were REJECTED on the basis that there wasn't evidence they would be in danger if they returned.

I didn't catch any mention of the initial entry status/method of any of the family members. In my view, anyone that enters illegally initially with the thought of applying for asylum later should be automatically denied.

Knocking on the front door and proclaiming an intent to apply for asylum/refugee status is one thing (even without numerical limits on such persons, I can still live with this) But... sneaking in, finding yourself 'on the radar' of immigration enforcement and then quickly applying for asylum status is quite another. I wonder which case is applies in the present circumstance here (?) We tolerate WAY TOO MUCH of the latter.

Originally Posted by cvangel

Originally Posted by jamesw62

so they have been fighting to asylum since 1992. is that what I read?

now who is to blame that something has not been taken care of in SIXTEEN YEARS... that makes no sense

Her husband came in '92. She followed with the boy in '95. They applied for asylum and were REJECTED on the basis that there wasn't evidence they would be in danger if they returned.

So it does sound like something similar to what I mentioned in an earlier post.

The people I work for had said that it has become very difficult for those coming from former Soviet countries to obtain asylum because the dangers some would have faced in the past are just not an issue anymore.

What I find conspicuously absent from these articles is the mention of the exact circumstances under which these folks feel they are entitled to asylum.

If there was any valid reason, you can bet it would be mentioned at every opportunity to garner more sympathy and hopefully make their case in the court of public opinion.

Bullard Valedictorian Fights Deportation

6/5/2008 Fresno, CA (KFSN) -- A top Bullard High School student is hoping an act of Congress will keep him in this country.

Seventeen-year-old Arthur Mkoyan has been in this country since he was four but the Federal Government wants to deport the boy and his family to Armenia.

Graduation ceremonies are just 6 days away, and Arthur Mkoyan plans to get his diploma, and be recognized as valedictorian. But before the month is out he and his family might be deported.

Arthur Mkoyan proudly displays a symbol of achievement declaring him a valedictorian of the Bullard High School Class of 2008. He's been accepted to U.C. Davis in the fall, but instead, on June 20th, he and his mother and 12-year-old brother could be sent back to, Armenia. "Supposedly we're supposed to get deported on that day. They are going to hold us, and then, take us from there," said Arthur Mkoyan.
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Arthur's father was arrested last month and is already being held in a federal detention center in Arizona. He came to this country legally 16 years ago, and applied for asylum. The petition was eventually denied, and the family's long court battle ended with a deportation order and immigration officers at their door.

The family is now hoping Congressman George Radanovich or Senator Dianne Feinstein will introduce a private bill on their behalf. "It would be a dream come true, but I guess it's not for me to decide," said Mkoyan.

Members of Fresno's Armenian community have mobilized after hearing of the families' plight. Hilda Santikian, chair of the Armenian National Committee, thinks he's the wrong kind of person to be deported. "He's a good student, he's a four-point-zero student and of course I want him to stay here," said Santikian, "we need people like this."

Arthur said he's trying to stay focused on graduation day on the tenth, and just hoping for the best. "I'll be able to make it to the ceremony, but after that it's really up in the air right now."

Representatives from Congressman Radanovich's office will meet with the
family on Thursday, but the Congressman has already rejected the family's first request for help.

Senator Feinstein has intervened on behalf of Mexican families facing deportation, and her office is looking at this case.

With graduation season here, this case has attracted national attention.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?secti ... id=6186156