Thread: OR-Miss Oregon's Father Could Be Deported

Miss Oregon's Father Could Be Deported
Courts Say Man Lied About Military Service

POSTED: 4:42 pm PDT March 13, 2009
UPDATED: 9:19 am PDT March 14, 2009

BEAVERTON, Ore. -- Miss Oregon's father, a Bosnian Serbian refugee who moved his family to Beaverton in 1998, could be jailed and deported for visa fraud, court officials say.

Milenko Krstic lied to get his green card and said that he never served in the military, according to court documents. An international tribunal claims that Krstic's military unit was responsible for slaughtering unarmed Muslims in 1995.

A judge threw out Krstic's indictment in 2007, but this week that ruling was overturned by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Across the country, a number of former Bosnian Serbs have been prosecuted on similar immigration charges, a result of U.S. officials comparing their records to lists made available by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

The government hasn't alleged that the Krstic took part in killings.

His lawyer, Christopher Schatz, said Krstic was a conscripted clerk at the unit's headquarters "nowhere near Srebrenica," and didn't participate in, nor know about, mass killings during the war.

"He is not a war criminal candidate," Schatz said.

According to the documents, Krstic was a member of the Zvornik Infantry Brigade for the Army Republic of Srpska from 1992 through 1995.

A federal appeals court ruled this week that Krstic may have lied about his military service.

The U.S. government alleges that Krstic didn't mention his military service, and denied it in an interview, when he applied for permanent residence in 1999. Federal agents took his green card seven years later.

During the conflict in Bosnia, the International Court of Justice in Europe charged that Bosnian Serbian forces murdered unarmed Muslim prisoners.

The international court concluded that the brigade Krstic belonged to participated in massacres and ethnic cleansing.

Schatz said Krstic before the war gained a reputation as a peacemaker, joining with his Muslim supervisor at a coal mine on a "reconciliation commission" that tried to avert the fighting that broke out in 1992.

A prosecution document said that one mass killing was at a school "in close physical proximity to battalion headquarters where records show that defendant was working at the time."

Schatz said Krstic is a mining engineer who now works in production operating a lathe.

In 2005, U.S. agents came to Krstic's home near Beaverton and said he admitted to serving in the military unit but denied committing any crimes.

His daughter, Daniela Krstic, was crowned Miss Oregon in June and on Friday said that she's confident innocent and justice will be served.

"We don't know what's going to come out of all of this, but we know that he is an innocent guy, a good guy. We hope that justice will surface. We have faith in our country, the United States of America. I'm a proud citizen of this country," Daniela Krstic said.

The federal court of appeals ruling means that the U.S. government may continue the visa fraud prosecution against Milenko Krstic.

If convicted, it is possible that he and members of his family could be deported.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle, Lorie Dankers, said she could not comment on the Krstic case. She said deportation would be a possibility in cases of visa fraud, but family members involved in such cases who could show their immigration benefit was gained independently might not be.

The immigration proceedings would follow the criminal proceedings, which in the Krstic case could be lengthy.

Schatz said the appeals would reach to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

http://www.kptv.com/news/18928221/detail.html

Milenko Krstic lied to get his green card and said that he never served in the military, according to court documents. An international tribunal claims that Krstic's military unit was responsible for slaughtering unarmed Muslims in 1995.

Deport him now.

I had rather have him than those treacherous Kosovar Albanians that Clinton took in.

Illegal is illegal, send him packing with the rest. I don't care if he's from Mexico, Iceland, Kenya, Iceland or Italy. If he broke our immigration laws, kick his @*^ out!

Father of Miss Oregon suspected in visa fraud
By TIM FOUGHT

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... wD96UA7PO2

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The father of Miss Oregon was a member of a Serbian military unit that slaughtered unarmed Muslims in Bosnia in 1995, the U.S. government says in an immigration case.

Milenko Krstic (kris-tich), 52, is accused of visa fraud. The government, however, hasn't alleged that he took part in killings.

"He is not a war criminal candidate," his lawyer says.

His daughter, Danijela, 24, serves as queen of the Oregon pageant. Crowned in June, Danijela Krstic was the first foreign-born winner of the pageant. A call to a Miss Oregon official was not returned, and attempts to reach family members were unsuccessful.

This week, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his attempt to throw out his 2007 indictment, reversing a Portland judge. The decision was first reported by The Oregonian.

Lawyers involved say two similar federal cases are pending in Oregon, one involving Milenko's brother, Ostoja, and are on hold pending the appeals in Milenko Krstic's case.

Across the country, a number of former Bosnian Serbs have been prosecuted on similar immigration charges, a result of U.S. officials comparing their records to lists made available by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

In Milenko Krstic's case, the government alleges that when he sought refugee status and a green card he didn't tell immigration officials that he was a member of the Bosnian Serb army's Zvornik brigade, which took part in the massacre of thousands of Muslims from the village of Srebrenica.

His lawyer, Christopher Schatz, said Krstic was a conscripted clerk at the unit's headquarters, "nowhere near Srebrenica," and didn't participate in, nor know about, mass killings during the war in Bosnia, which ended in 1995.

Schatz said Krstic before the war gained a reputation as a peacemaker, joining with his Muslim supervisor at a coal mine on a "reconciliation commission" that tried to avert the fighting that broke out in 1992.

A prosecution document said that one mass killing was at a school "in close physical proximity to battalion headquarters where records show that defendant was working at the time."

Schatz said Krstic is a mining engineer who now works in production operating a lathe.

Schatz said they were distraught over the possibility raised in The Oregonian article on Friday that all family members might be deported. Krstic lives in Beaverton with his wife. They have two daughters. Schatz said all three women have gained citizenship.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle, Lorie Dankers, said she could not comment on the Krstic case. She said deportation would be a possibility in cases of visa fraud, but family members involved in such cases who could show their immigration benefit was gained independently might not be.

The immigration proceedings would follow the criminal proceedings, which in the Krstic case could be lengthy.

Schatz said the appeals would reach to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

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