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04-01-2012, 10:05 PM #1
Man Denied Entry to US From Mexico to Bury Son, 10
Man Denied Entry to US From Mexico to Bury Son, 10
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press
ALLENTOWN, Pa. March 31, 2012 (AP)
A Mexican national said he has been barred from entering the United States to bury his 10-year-old son, a U.S. citizen who died Tuesday in a house fire in northeastern Pennsylvania that killed three other people.
Attorneys for Fidelmar "Fidel" Merlos-Lopez are trying to win humanitarian parole so he can attend the funeral, but say U.S. Customs and Border Protection has rebuffed their efforts.
Damien Lopez died in a Shenandoah row house along with his cousin, aunt and 7-month-old half-brother. The funeral is set for Monday, with burial the next day.
"I told the customs officer that all I want is a permit to see my boy for one last time. They treat me as if I am a criminal," Lopez, 34, a bus driver, said in an interview Saturday. "Right now, I need their support, and they are refusing to help me."
Lopez has been waiting at the U.S.-Mexico border near Laredo, Texas, since the fire.
"He's out of his mind. Can you imagine? Your son is dead in a fire and you can't even get across. It's clear they are giving us the runaround," said Elizabeth Surin, his Philadelphia-based immigration lawyer.
A spokeswoman for the border agency did not return a phone message left at her office Saturday.
Lopez was a teenager when he entered the United States illegally in 1995 and wound up in Shenandoah, a blue-collar town with a large Hispanic population. He married a U.S. citizen who gave birth to Damien in 2002. He later divorced Damien's mother and married his current wife, Danielle Lopez, who's also a U.S. citizen.
In 2007, police in nearby Frackville stopped Lopez for running a red light and turned him over to immigration authorities. He agreed to leave the U.S. voluntarily and began the process of applying for legal permanent residence.
Surin, his immigration lawyer, said he was well on his way to getting his green card and rejoining his family in Shenandoah when tragedy struck.
"He's trying to comply, trying to follow the rules of U.S. immigration law, but they are using that against him now. This whole thing is really heart-wrenching," she said.
Humanitarian parole is granted to immigrants who have a compelling emergency that requires temporary entry into the United States. It is used sparingly: The government approves only about 25 percent of the 1,200 applications it gets each year.
Surin said Lopez qualifies. In fact, the Mexican husband of Tiffany Sanchez, the 29-year-old woman who died in the fire, was granted humanitarian parole to attend the funeral, she said.
Surin said border officials told her that Lopez was denied entry because he didn't have a relationship with Damien. She said it's just the opposite: Lopez shared partial custody of Damien and paid his ex-wife child support before leaving the United States.
Lopez, who worked as a mechanic in Shenandoah, said he was very close to his son.
"I have a video of him. I watch it often. Of when he graduated from kindergarten, you know how they do those parties. He was wearing his cap, a shirt and a tie," Lopez said.
Though he hadn't seen Damien in more than three years, they spoke over the phone twice a week.
"He used to tell me, 'Come back, come back,'" he said. "I have been thinking that maybe it's my fault because there may have been a reason he asked me that."
His current wife said Lopez, who lives in Naucalpan de Juarez, a suburb of Mexico City, had been looking forward to returning to the United States. Now he's desperate to get back, if only for a few days. But time is running out.
"I don't think it's fair," said Danielle Lopez, 28, a hairdresser who was born and raised in Shenandoah. "It's his child, his flesh and blood, his firstborn son. It's horrible."
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Associated Press writer Adriana Gomez Licon in Mexico City contributed to this report.
SOURCE: Man Denied Entry to US From Mexico to Bury Son, 10 - ABC NewsJoin our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & to secure US borders by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn
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04-01-2012, 11:11 PM #2
Lawyer: Man May Enter US From Mexico to Bury Son
ALLENTOWN, Pa. April 2, 2012 (AP)
An immigration lawyer says a Mexican man will be allowed to enter the United States to bury his 10-year-old son, a U.S. citizen who died in a house fire in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Fidelmar "Fidel" Merlos-Lopez initially was barred entry into the country. But his Philadelphia-based lawyer, Elizabeth Surin, says her client was issued a humanitarian parole to attend the funeral.
She said early Sunday that Lopez was on a plane bound for Pennsylvania.
Lopez's son, Damien Lopez, died Tuesday in a Shenandoah row house fire along with his cousin, aunt and 7-month-old half-brother. The funeral is set for Monday.
Lopez was an illegal immigrant who left the U.S. voluntarily in 2008. He's in the process of getting his green card so he can rejoin his wife in Shenandoah.
Lawyer: Man May Enter US From Mexico to Bury Son - ABC NewsNO AMNESTY
Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.
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04-01-2012, 11:14 PM #3
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Its sad the boy died, it truly is sad. But there are Laws that MUST be followed and Enforced....We ALL have sad stories these days, Ive lost close family members, Ive lost employment, we have No vehicle, We barely scrape by each month, we've been attacked violently by an Illegal and his ppl, My 5yr old had his Identity stolen by an Illegal..We've gotton NO justice!!
Sad story, yes, and all true,we live it daily..BUT, I cant just go out and start breakin laws and thinking the laws should change and bend just for me...Last edited by ShawnX5; 04-01-2012 at 11:17 PM.
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04-01-2012, 11:26 PM #4
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04-02-2012, 07:41 AM #5
In this case, I give the guy some credit for leaving voluntarily and trying to do things the right way. Isn't this what we want illegals to do? And now his kid dies, and he could have crossed again illegally, but he didn't, he asked permission. And the government has a procedure for this, which he followed. Now, as long as he goes back to Mexico when he is supposed to, he will have followed the law. I don't have a problem with that.
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04-02-2012, 12:00 PM #6NO AMNESTY
Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.
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