Thread: PA: Register of wills sued over visa arrest

Register of wills sued over visa arrest
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
BY MATT MILLER
Of Our Cumberland County Bureau

An Egyptian man jailed after the Cumberland County register of wills staff questioned a visa he tried using to get a marriage license is suing the county office.

Mehany Mousa and his fiancee, Kendra Vernon, both of Camp Hill, are suing Register of Wills Glenda Farner Strasbaugh in federal court, claiming her staff overstepped its authority when they called immigration authorities about the visa.

While Mousa has been jailed since his Nov. 14 arrest in Strasbaugh's office, attorney Craig R. Shagin insists his client is in the country legally.

Shagin said Monday that he is trying to secure Mousa's release from a detention facility in Texas.

"He had a right to that marriage license, " Shagin said. "We have [immigrants] who have children with U.S. citizens who want to marry and legitimize their relationships, but are afraid to go to a register of wills office."

But Strasbaugh's lawyer, David Karamessinis, said under state law the register of wills must confirm the identities of both parties before issuing marriage licenses.

Karamessinis, who said he is still researching the case, said Mousa's visa was "substantially out of date."

In their U.S. Middle District Court suit, Mousa and Vernon claim Strasbaugh's office has no authority to demand to see visas of non-citizens seeking marriage licenses.

The couple want the court to order Strasbaugh to stop asking to see visas and to issue them a license. They also seek unspecified monetary damages.

According to the suit, Mousa was arrested after a lengthy wait in Strasbaugh's office.

He was first sent to York County Prison, where the Immigration and Naturalization Service holds immigrants whose status is in question, then on Nov. 27 was shipped to Texas, Shagin said.

He said Mousa, a Christian, has been in the U.S. for several years and has family here.

A visa is not an adequate gauge of an immigrant's residency status, Shagin said, because it only shows the holder was allowed into the U.S. legally.

"There are many people who are in the U.S. legally who don't have visas," he said.

In any case, he said, county registers of wills aren't qualified to make judgments on immigration law.

Karamessinis, however, said the dispute appears to be about the need to provide identification for a marriage license and not immigration law.

Shagin said he also has encountered problems involving immigrants who sought marriage licenses in Dauphin County, but this is the first case he's taken to court.

In the immigrant community, Cumberland, Dauphin and Luzerne counties are considered "unfriendly" to immigrants, he said. Immigrants are going to "friendly" counties such as Lancaster, Chester, Philadelphia and Delaware or to Maryland for marriage licenses and other certifications, Shagin said.

The situation isn't tied to fears of terrorism, he said.

"I don't think homeland security has anything to do with it," Shagin said. "I think it's about local politicians trying to get brownie points."

MATT MILLER: 249-2006 or mmiller@patriot-news.com
http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnew ... thispage=2

The situation isn't tied to fears of terrorism, he said.

"I don't think homeland security has anything to do with it," Shagin said. "I think it's about local politicians trying to get brownie points."

Get out of here...... take your "I am a crazy person attitude" and drag yourself back to Giza and figure out what you did wrong.

There are many people who are in the U.S. legally who don't have visas," he said.

In any case, he said, county registers of wills aren't qualified to make judgments on immigration law.

It sounds like he may have came here legally but his Visa expired and remained her Illegally after trying the anchor baby thing. This office did nothing more than report an Illegal Alien like all citizens and government offices should do... This person was going for the bowl of gravy called citizenship and got caught

Yes there are many people in the U.S. that do not have Visas, they're called LEGAL CITIZENS and they do not need visas! The other people that have expired visas are called ILLEGAL ALIENS!