Thread: denied custody of the children because he is an undocumented

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... thwest-hed

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Dad, girl are found with family member
Man arrested in wife's slaying; 16-month-old is OK

By Charles Sheehan
Tribune staff reporter
Published June 6, 2006


A Chicago man and his 16-month-old daughter were found safe in the city late Monday, more than a day after his wife was found slain in their apartment and he and his daughter were discovered missing, police said.

Harrison Area detectives found Fidel Carrasco and his 16-month-old daughter, Guadalupe Medina, at the home of a relative in Chicago, said police spokeswoman Monique Bond. Carrasco was arrested, she said.

"We got the father and the baby," Bond said. "The child appears to be in good condition."

Guadalupe was being examined by medical personnel late Monday, Bond said. No details of the arrest, including where the two were found, were immediately available, Bond said.

Carrasco's wife, Maria Del Rocio Medina, 29, was found fatally stabbed in her Little Village home on Sunday. A national Amber Alert was issued for Guadalupe on Sunday, and police launched a search for a green Pontiac Grand Am.

Relatives said they believe Carrasco isolated Medina by moving the family two months ago from their Cicero apartment where they lived with three children. The relatives said the family moved to the Little Village neighborhood and Carrasco gave them a bogus phone number.

Neighbors said they heard Carrasco and Medina arguing around midnight Saturday outside their apartment in the 4000 block of West 30th Street.

On Sunday, Medina's 3-year-old son answered a knock on the door and a neighbor found Medina inside with multiple stab wounds.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services took the boy and his 3-month-old brother into custody, said spokesman Kendall Marlowe.

As a search expanded nationwide, the brother of the victim said he is being denied custody of the children because he is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. But a spokesman for DCFS denied the agency has a policy against placing children with undocumented immigrants.

Jose Medina of Cicero went to DCFS Monday to say he would care for his sister's children. Lizette Flores, his fiance, said they were told it was not possible because Medina is not here legally.

The Mexican Consulate in Chicago will get involved if that is the reason for denying custody, said spokesman Cesar Romero.

"If they are doing that, that would be absolutely wrong," Romero said. "We have had similar cases before, and the courts have ruled that immigration status has nothing to do with being able to have custody of children."

The DCFS does not discuss individual cases, but Marlowe said that the agency always seeks to place children with family members, regardless of immigration status.

"I can say that DCFS policy does not prohibit placement of a child with a relative who is undocumented," Marlowe said.

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csheehan@tribune.com







Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune

The DCFS does not discuss individual cases, but Marlowe said that the agency always seeks to place children with family members, regardless of immigration status.

"I can say that DCFS policy does not prohibit placement of a child with a relative who is undocumented," Marlowe said.

So I guess they just go by the word of the individual that would like to have the child? No official documentation, no person, no relation, I'd think. I have to show custody papers of my Grandsonat school and at the doctor to get treatment. Why am I doing that?