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Nampa Man Deported After 14 Years in United States


December 8, 2005

By Michelle DeGrand

NAMPA -
A Nampa man is being deported to his home country of Columbia after living illegally in the U.S. for 14 years. Immigration officials say Paul Vargas came to the United States on a six month visitor visa in 1992. After overstaying the visa, he was ordered deported in 1998.

Since then, he has been through every possible appeal, but immigration judges and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied each of his requests.

Recently, he attempted to purchase a gun and claimed on the federal form to be a U.S. citizen, alerting immigration officials after the form was processed.

"The document that he filled out was a federal document and he falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen, which is a felony," said a Spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Carl Rusnol in a phone interview with Local 2 News, "In addition to that it's illegal for an alien, much less an illegal alien to have a firearm in this country."

Some say, government officials should have known where Vargas was, as he didn't hide his real name or identity, but that his attorneys should have made progress towards granting him citizenship. According to the Idaho Press Tribune, Vargas said in a jail interview that he has consistently tried to gain legal residency.

"It tells me that the government is not doing it's job that they are not pursuing illegal aliens in as ardent a manner as they should be," said Canyon County Commissioner Robert Vasquez, "One would think in 14 years there would have been some means for this man to have gained some level of legality in this country, he certainly spent enough time and money."

Vasquez contends some attorneys have created a niche exploiting individuals like Vargas, taking their money, but not pursuing legal status for them.