Thread: MO-St. Charles man faces deportation after 26 years

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St. Charles man faces deportation after 26 years
Lawyer argues arrest was illegal





By Eric Becker
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 9:12 AM CDT



On April 21, Bernardino, an undocumented immigrant from Michoacán, Mexico, will see a 26-year chapter of his life come to an end. On that day, he expects he will be told he has 60 days to return to Mexico or be forcibly deported.

With his wife and 21-year-old daughter, Bernardino said he will take what belongings he can back to Mexico, a country he has not seen in more than two decades, and one where he said he will face few job prospects. His daughter came to the United States as a toddler and has no recollection of Mexico.

For Bernardino's daughter, who is also undocumented, life has been stalled for the last three years since she graduated high school. Without a Social Security number, she cannot enroll in the University of Missouri system. She could not afford to go even if she could apply; she would not be eligible for financial aid. She said she had hoped to study and become a foreign language teacher.

Bernardino, 40, comes from a family of five brothers and five sisters. Some are still in Mexico; others are in Oregon and Arizona. Bernardino, who spoke with the Journal on the condition his last name not be used, has lived off and on in the United States since he paid $200 to a coyote - someone who sneaks migrants across the border - when he was 14. He crossed the border first to California to pick grapes and strawberries. He later lived in Arizona before he came to Missouri. He has traveled back and forth between Mexico and the United States, and had a daughter in Mexico. He brought her to the U.S. when she was 3 years old.

Since he and his wife have lived here, their daughter has attended local schools.

Bernardino said he had been living in the United States without complication until one Friday early last November, when he was at his brother-in-law's house working on his pickup truck. He said a St. Charles police car passed by then made a U-turn and asked him for identification.

When he produced an Arizona driver's license, police found it was not valid. When asked about his immigration status, Bernardino said, he told police officers he was not in the country legally.

"I knew it was worse to tell a lie because they would find the truth sooner or later," he said.

He was arrested, handcuffed at his hands and feet, and taken to a St. Charles jail, he said.

Bernardino told the Journal he made a call to his family, who contacted a lawyer. He spent the weekend there. The following Monday, an immigration officer arrived and Bernardino was transferred to St. Louis, he said. There, he said, an immigration official told him to sign deportation papers. He said he wanted to speak with a lawyer before making a decision.

Documents from the U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review indicate Bernardino was taken into custody by immigration officials Nov. 8 and released from custody Nov. 25, at which time he waived his right to an appeal.

Bernardino's daughter, who had contacted a lawyer, said she was told her father should not have been picked up by St. Charles police.

"When I explained the situation and what had happened to the lawyer, he said it was illegal to just come and ask for ID and that he would call immigration and find out what was going on," his daughter said.

Raymond Bolourtchi, a Ladue-based lawyer who is representing Bernardino in his deportation hearings, said Bernardino should not be deported because the police should not have asked him for identification without cause.

"There's nothing on the federal books that says they can do that," Bolourtchi said.

He said non-immigration officials are not allowed to check identification except in cases where an individual has been arrested for a criminal offense.

St. Charles Police Department spokesman Detective Derek Piasecki said his department had no record of Bernardino's arrest, saying that in many cases, a police report is not filed when St. Charles police pull over a suspected undocumented immigrant and hold him or her until ICE picks him or her up.

Piasecki said officers undergo annual training to discourage racial profiling. He said officers sometimes pull over individuals who are found hanging out in abandoned parking lots because of the suspicious nature of such activity.

Bolourtchi said Latinos are targeted in the St. Charles County and the St. Louis area. He said an escalation of arrests has taken place over the last 24 to 30 months.

Miriam Mahan, executive director of Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service, works frequently with undocumented individuals through the social service ministry. She said she also believes Latinos are targeted by police throughout St. Charles County.

Bernardino said that on Monday morning, after spending the weekend in a St. Charles jail, he was taken to federal immigration offices in St. Louis and then transferred to a federal immigration prison in Montgomery City, an hour west of St. Charles.

Bernardino said he stayed in federal immigration prison as his family struggled to come up with $18,000 in bail.

He said many undocumented immigrants had been there for three to six months. He estimated he was there with 25 to 30 others, 18 of whom were Mexican. There were also immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, China, Africa and Israel.

After posting bail and leaving custody, Bernardino said he fell ill, becoming depressed and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"I would wake up and have nightmares, not knowing where I was," he said.

The ordeal has taken a toll on his family, too.

"We're decent people who work hard, but we live in fear every time we see a policeman," his wife said.

As her father's final deportation hearing nears, his daughter faces the prospect of returning to Mexico with fear.

"I'm scared, because I don't remember what it is like there," she said.

He is illegal if he is here 50 years ...


http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/ar ... eport0.txt

Why wasn't the daughter arrested too?

Bernardino's daughter, who had contacted a lawyer, said she was told her father should not have been picked up by St. Charles police.

"When I explained the situation and what had happened to the lawyer, he said it was illegal to just come and ask for ID and that he would call immigration and find out what was going on," his daughter said.

Raymond Bolourtchi, a Ladue-based lawyer who is representing Bernardino in his deportation hearings, said Bernardino should not be deported because the police should not have asked him for identification without cause.

"There's nothing on the federal books that says they can do that," Bolourtchi said.

Why is it illegal to ask for ID, but it's perfectly OK for an illegal to evade/violate laws? I see nothing wrong with police asking for anyone's ID at any time.

They should ALL be deported ASAP! Enough with this BS.

26 years here and he nor his daughter have applied for citizenship??

These are just the people we need down in mexico telling everyone how "unfair" immigration enforcement is.

Maybe all the people who whine about "illegal immigrants" invading "their land" should redirect their energy to helping to solve the "problem". How about you belly-achers starte a prgram to help people become citizens of the country your ancestors invaded and stole from the aboriginal people in America?

The law is not always right! The immigration laws are not accomplishing your goal of the "perfect American society". Remember, "All things are lawful, but all things are not profitable."? My 4 year old granddaughter was sexually molested by a St. Louis man last year. This pervert is in the Navy, has worked in the medical field and has been picked up for the same thing before. However, no charges could be filed based solely on the statement of a 4 year old girl. That is why I know the laws are not always right.

Welcome pahfish. We already have programs in place to help people become citizens of the US, they all start with legal immigration. I am the first generation who emigrated here legally, so the "stolen" land spin doesn't work for me.

Maybe all the people who whine about illegal aliens just coming here for a better life should redirect their energy to helping solve the problem in their own countries? How about starting programs in their own countries to help their country create jobs and a better quality of life? Oh yeah...like all the American companies who've opened factories in Mexico, why aren't their nationals going back to work there? How about all the American companies who moved to India? China? Why aren't their nationals going back to work there?

No one says the law is always right, neither is life fair. I want a oceanfront mansion, why can't I just take one? Because I haven't WORKED for it!

We are not the world's piggy bank or welfare office, we can't be responsible for everyone. [/b]

ronny wrote:

26 years here and he nor his daughter have applied for citizenship??

Illegal aliens aren't eligible to apply for permanent residency (leading to citizenship) unless they qualify under a special program. For example:

1. An illegal who has been here for over 10 years and can prove that their deportation will cause a hardship for their U.S. born children can qualify.

2. The Violence Against Woman Act (VAWA) allows a spouse or child suffering abuse from a spouse or parent who is a lawful permanent resident of United States or American Citizen to file a self-petition for permanent residency.

3. An illegal can also apply for asylum if qualified.

4. The U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 created the T visa program to help victims as the government prosecuted traffickers. In 2001, Congress approved granting as many as 5,000 visas each year. Family members whose lives could be endangered in other countries also are eligible.

There may be other avenues but these are the ones that I'm aware of.

Originally Posted by MW

ronny wrote:

26 years here and he nor his daughter have applied for citizenship??

Illegal aliens aren't eligible to apply for permanent residency (leading to citizenship) unless they qualify under a special program. For example:

1. An illegal who has been here for over 10 years and can prove that their deportation will cause a hardship for their U.S. born children can qualify.

there is just one problem with this. the daughter is an illegal also

Originally Posted by pahfish

How about you belly-achers starte a prgram to help people become citizens of the country your ancestors invaded and stole from the aboriginal people in America?

Why do you pro-illegals always try to deflect the discussion with irrelevant issues?

#1. American Indians are not indigenous to this land, they migrated here about 10,000 years ago from Asia, and they displaced the Solutreans who had migrated here from Europe about 20,000 years ago.

#2. American Indians on the East Coast sold land to the more recent European colonists and traded with them to the benefit of both parties for 150 years.

#3. American Indians are being partly compensated today for past broken treaties with Indian Gaming and increased US Government support programs.

#4. Whatever occurs between American Indians and the US Government has absolutely no connection to immigration, immigration is a completely separate issue.

Bonus History lesson:
The USA did not exist, there was no "country" when American Indians inhabited these lands.