Thread: Foster child, 2, being sent to Mexico

Foster child, 2, being sent to Mexico
Custody - Oregon opts to deny a foster family's adoption bid and to send Gabriel Allred to live with his grandmother
Saturday, November 03, 2007
MICHELLE COLE The Oregonian
Angela and Steve Brandt got the call Friday afternoon that they had dreaded all week: State officials will send the little boy the couple has raised since he was 4 months old to Mexico to live with his grandmother.
The reason? The state put family and cultural ties ahead of his foster parents.
"We're in shock. Otherwise we'd be crying our heads off," said Steve Brandt, a Lincoln County deputy sheriff who has been foster dad to 2-year-old Gabriel Allred for the past 20 months.
The Brandts, who live in Toledo near the Oregon coast, also have four boys ages 7 to 14. They asked the state to adopt the toddler.
But the Department of Human Services makes placing children with relatives a priority, and officials had located a paternal grandmother in Mexico who was also interested in raising Gabriel, who was born in Oregon.
"Everything about this was in Gabriel's best interest," said agency spokeswoman Ann Snyder. "This is in no way a negative reflection on the foster parents. The good news here is there were two safe and loving homes."
Gabriel's biological mother cannot be found. She had pleaded guilty to felony drug charges in March 2006 but never appeared in court to be sentenced.
Gabriel's father, Roberto Valiente Martinez, 26, was released from Oregon prison last month after serving time on drug charges. He had also been twice convicted of attempted first-degree rape involving a child. The victim, according to Clatsop County prosecutors, was a 15-year-old girl. This week, federal immigration authorities confirmed that Valiente Martinez has been deported to Mexico. The Brandts argued that the father planned to return to his mother's house. If he did, the child would be in danger, they said.
"He's a convicted sex offender and a convicted drug trafficker," Brandt said. "Why would you send that child into that type of atmosphere?"
After being told their chances were good to adopt the boy, the couple were shocked in late September when a state adoption committee voted 2-1 to allow the grandmother in Mexico to raise him instead.
The Brandts appealed but learned Friday that a second review committee endorsed the decision, as well as officials within the state's Children, Adults and Families division.
Snyder said her department is required to make "every effort" to place a child with family members, as long as it is a safe place.
Also, federal law prohibits the state from being biased against a family member for geographical reasons, she said.
Snyder said the grandmother has the financial means to support Gabriel. Besides Roberto Martinez, she has three other adult children, two who are professionals and one who is in college, she said.
The grandmother lives in a small suburb of Mexico City, and Mexican officials who interviewed her and her family members concluded that she is "well-regarded, responsible and a person of good character," Snyder said.
As far as any threat Gabriel's father may pose, Snyder said: "The safety plan for Gabriel requires zero contact with this father, and she (the grandmother) and her family have absolutely committed to uphold that plan."
Gabriel was born in Oregon but has dual Mexican-U.S. citizenship because of his father. Mexico's child protection officials will be responsible for monitoring his safety there.
In the past seven years, Oregon officials have placed 19 children outside the United Sates; 17 with relatives and two through private adoption, Snyder said. Eleven children were relocated to family in Mexico; four went to Canada; three to Europe and one to Kenya.
Angela Brandt, who had anxiously awaited the decision for days, sent out an emotional e-mail minutes after a local Department of Human Services supervisor called their home with the news.
"We are so shocked and devastated," she wrote. "How can they possibly do this!"
Legislators who had lobbied on behalf of the Brandts said they were disappointed and baffled by the department's decision to send Gabriel away.
"The position doesn't make sense to me unless there's something unforeseen that I just haven't heard," said Sen. Joanne Verger, D-Coos Bay. "My heart really goes out to the Brandt family. I just can't imagine being in their situation; this is heartbreaking."
Snyder said both committees and state child welfare officials carefully weighed the Brandts' ties to the boy and his attachment to them.
The Brandts can make no further appeals through the Department of Human Services, but they may still be able to reverse the decision by going to court.
"We don't have a lot of resources," Steve Brandt said. "We're going to do whatever we can."
The couple did not know Friday how long Gabriel would remain with their family.
"They assured me they're not going to get him this weekend," Brandt said, adding that he'd been told to wait for an official letter to arrive next week.
There are a lot of issues to work out, Snyder said. "We're talking a few weeks to a month or two before Gabriel would actually move."
Janie Har of The Oregonian staff contributed to this report. Michelle Cole: 503-294-5143; michellecole@news.oregonian.com
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonia ... xml&coll=7

====================

I agree with State of Oregon, the child should be with family and would not be affected for the rest of his life if he is taken from the foster parent. He is only 2 years old.
What is intresting is that he has duel citizenship.

Wait a minute - little Gabriel was born in the US - he is an anchor baby.

If they can send an anchor baby back to Mexico to live with his grandparent - then what's the stink about sending them home with their own parents????

Am I missing something here???

Both the Brandts and Gabriel's grandmother claim kinship. The grandmother is the closer blood relative and wants him, that's how custody works. He's a fortunate child that has two families that want him.

This issue has nothing to do with immigration, it's a matter of family law.

This implies that anchor babies are citizens of Mexico and their should not be a problem in deporting them with their families. And other anchor babies have been deported. No one ever talks about their Mexican citizenship

the kid belongs with his grandmother. pro illegals need to stop using kids to further their cause.

This was on Lou Dobbs last night. He thinks the foster parents should get to be able to adopt the kid. At one time the agency said they could adopt him.

Originally Posted by butterbean

This was on Lou Dobbs last night. He thinks the foster parents should get to be able to adopt the kid. At one time the agency said they could adopt him.

No court would ever give a child to a foster family when there is a blood relative who wants the child and can take care of the child. This is not an immigration issue, as the child's mother is an American citizen.

Originally Posted by miguelina

Originally Posted by butterbean

This was on Lou Dobbs last night. He thinks the foster parents should get to be able to adopt the kid. At one time the agency said they could adopt him.

No court would ever give a child to a foster family when there is a blood relative who wants the child and can take care of the child. This is not an immigration issue, as the child's mother is an American citizen.

i agree, the blood relative should get the kid. i agree, this is NOT an immigration issue!!!

Illegal or not these are the kinds of problems left behind for the children and those who care for them when their parents use drugs and break other laws.
This is a sad case but the maternal grand mother has the first claim, not the foster parents.