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Man deported; where is his 9-year-old son?
Mom reports him missing months after dad arrested, sent to Mexico

Last updated May 23, 2008 11:44 p.m. PT

By HECTOR CASTRO
P-I REPORTER

King County sheriff's deputies are looking for a 9-year-old boy whose father was deported earlier this year by federal immigration agents after being arrested on suspicion of drunken driving.

No one seems to have seen the boy -- Jonathon Venegas-Vielle -- since his father appeared in Seattle Municipal Court in late January to face the charge and was immediately booked into jail, sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart said Friday.


Jonathon Venegas-Vielle
At the time of the Jan. 24 arrest, the boy and his father had been homeless, living out of a car or staying with friends and acquaintances, Urquhart said.

"That's not a good environment for a 9-year-old kid," he said.

Jonathon, a U.S. citizen, was in the car at the time of the DUI arrest, Urquhart said.

Officers took the pair back to where they were staying. Five days later, the father appeared in court and was arrested.

Lorie Dankers, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the agency became aware of the father's status as an illegal immigrant March 31, when he was still being jailed. He remained in ICE custody until April 26 when he appeared before an immigration judge and was deported to Mexico, waiving his right to appeal, Dankers said.

"We have no record of the boy," she said.

Urquhart said investigators don't believe the boy traveled to Mexico to be with his father. "The mother is Native American," he said. "There is no reason for the kid to go."

Officials with Child Protective Services said Friday they could not comment on the matter. Urquhart said deputies would forward the case to CPS once they locate the boy.

In early May, the boy's mother, who does not have custody of him, went to the King County Sheriff's Office to report her son missing.

The department's child-find unit is investigating, Urquhart said.

Detectives have learned that the boy hasn't been in school since June 2006, when he attended Whitworth Elementary in Seattle. But Seattle Public Schools spokesman David Tucker said Friday that the boy is no longer in the system.

Beyond that, no one seems to know where he's been.

In 2006, the Pew Hispanic Center reported that there were at least 3.1 million children nationwide who have at least one parent who is an illegal immigrant, according to the Los Angeles Times. U.S-born children are considered American citizens and are not subject to deportation.

Federal immigration officials have been criticized in the past over how they handle children of people who are deported.

Two years ago, U.S.-born Saul Arellano -- then a 7-year-old whose mother had entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico -- caught the attention of many activists and Mexican lawmakers, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The boy's mother was living in Washington state when she gave birth to him, but was served with deportation papers while living in Chicago, according to the report. Eventually, his mother was deported and he planned to return to Mexico.

In this case, Dankers said, the father was already in jail when the federal agents found out about him.

"He was encountered in jail, so the child custody issues are completely outside our enforcement action," she said.

For investigators, the most serious concern is simply finding the boy.

"It's highly suspicious because he hasn't been in school," Urquhart said.

Anyone who may have information on Jonathon's whereabouts is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 206-296-3311 or 911.



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P-I reporter Hector Castro can be reached at 206-448-8334 or hectorcastro@seattlepi.com.

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