Thread: Redwood City man faces deportation, may never see his childr

Redwood City man faces deportation, may never see his children again
By Joshua Melvin
San Mateo County Times
Posted: 08/01/2009 01:59:40 PM PDT
Updated: 08/01/2009 08:25:36 PM PDT


A man who left his two young children unsupervised in a home near Redwood City while he went out to drink beer may never see his kids again, his former attorney said.

Abidan Vasquez, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, is facing deportation proceedings set in motion by his arrest in March for child endangerment, authorities said. Because of those proceedings, Vasquez, 22, won't be able to complete a yearlong class that the court said he must take before he can try to get his children back, said Lisa Maguire, his court-appointed attorney.

"It's an impossibility that he'll get it done," she said, referring to the child abusers treatment counseling program. "The children will be adopted out."

About 1:50 a.m. March 28, San Mateo County sheriff's deputies arrested Vasquez after finding his then 3-year-old son alone on an unincorporated Redwood City street. Vasquez, who returned home about 2:30 a.m., told police he had put the kids to bed at 9 p.m. and had gone out for a drink. In the house deputies reportedly found cockroaches running across rotting trash and unwashed dishes. They also found his 1-year-old daughter asleep in her bed.

Vasquez was arrested and the children were placed in foster care. Authorities later said the girl had a severe diaper rash.

Maguire said there were roommates in the house when Vasquez left, but he failed to tell them he was going out. As for the children's mother, she was not living with them and had been stripped two years prior of her parental rights by a court. Authorities' attempts to locate her have been unsuccessful. She apparently has a total of nine kids fathered by different men and doesn't have custody of any of those children, authorities said.

Maguire said Vasquez didn't make a very good decision that night, but went on to say that he desperately wants to get his children back. The man who had come to the U.S. when he was 17 in search of work had fallen on hard times, he said.

Maguire said Vasquez explained his daughter's diaper rash by saying that he had switched to a cheaper brand of diapers and was changing them less frequently. He also said his son had a tendency to wander off. In fact, police had come to Vasquez's address in December when the boy got out of the house in the middle of the night. Police later brought the boy home and no arrests were made. These explanations did little to sway the court.

Vasquez has since pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor counts of child endangerment and was sentenced this week to six months in jail as well as being ordered to complete the child abuser program.

"He was crying right before he went in to be sentenced," Maguire said. "I don't think he understands how his children can be taken away from him."

At sentencing a judge gave Vasquez credit for the 183 days he had already spent in jail. Normally, that credit would mean Vasquez's immediate release from custody. But in this case, because of his immigration status, the man was picked up Thursday morning by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

He has been transferred to a facility in Florence, Ariz., where he is awaiting deportation proceedings.

Maguire is not an immigration attorney and ICE doesn't provide lawyers to people being deported. Given the complexity of the case Vasquez will need someone who knows family and immigration law or two attorneys, San Francisco-based immigration lawyer Amie Miller said.

"I don't think he can afford it," Maquire said.


http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12973952

He would fare only slightly better were he a citizen.

If BOOZE is more important to him than his kids than he prolly wont miss them much. Thanks for leaving the bill to raise your anchor babies, to the American taxpayers, ya mooch.

He doesn't deserve to see his children again. And what about mamacita?? How come no mention of her in this article?

Is the mother a US Citizen? Or are these anchor babies?

JohnPershing...........here is the paragraph about the mother

Maguire said there were roommates in the house when Vasquez left, but he failed to tell them he was going out. As for the children's mother, she was not living with them and had been stripped two years prior of her parental rights by a court. Authorities' attempts to locate her have been unsuccessful. She apparently has a total of nine kids fathered by different men and doesn't have custody of any of those children, authorities said.

What a great image of the new immigrant! Or whatever she might be....

Just deport all of them and let their own country support them. This will never happen for one good reason:

That country would simply say the United States attracted them here for better jobs and more pay so we should deal with the problems.

THANKS CORPORATE AMERICA

Just wonder who called the cops? One of the roommates or maybe a neighbor?

Maguire said Vasquez didn't make a very good decision that night, but went on to say that he desperately wants to get his children back. The man who had come to the U.S. when he was 17 in search of work had fallen on hard times, he said.

he probably wants his anchor children back so he can stay in the country...I say keep the family together and send them all to his home country and let them worry about the loser.

She apparently has a total of nine kids fathered by different men and doesn't have custody of any of those children, authorities said.

Such family values.....

Also....he needs the kids back....w/o them he can't get the Welfare payments