Thread: 3 I.A. teens deported to Mexico have returned to U.S.

3 teens deported to TJ readmitted into U.S.

By Kristina Davis, Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:50 p.m. June 17, 2009

SAN DIEGO — Three teenagers who were detained by immigration officials at a trolley station and sent to Mexico last month have been allowed to return to the United States on humanitarian visas.

The students, ages 15, 16 and 17, reunited with their families in San Diego about 10 a.m. Wednesday. They are working on hiring an attorney and will face an immigration judge in the near future to present their cases for legal residency.

The teens were among 21 suspected illegal immigrants detained at the Old Town trolley stop May 20 in a joint operation led by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration and Border Patrol.

The students, who were on their way to school, admitted to being in the country illegally after being questioned by federal agents and were voluntarily returned to Mexico, said Daryl Reed, supervisory agent for the Border Patrol. He said they were sent to Mexico after officials failed to find proper legal guardians for the teenagers in the United States.
He added that the agency followed the proper procedure in the case.

The oldest two, Stephanie Jimenez, 16, and Mauricio Villanueva, 17, said in a news conference Wednesday that they were frightened during the process and stayed with friends of friends in Tijuana for the past month.

The 15-year-old boy, whose name wasn't released, stayed elsewhere in the city.

Pedro Rios of the American Friends Service Committee, an organization that assists immigrants, said he was pleased the teens were able to reunite with their parents.

“These youth now have the opportunity to have their day in court and present immigration cases the way it should have happened originally,â€

He said they were sent to Mexico after officials failed to find proper legal guardians for the teenagers in the United States.

If the teens were reunited with their families in San Diego, how come there were no proper legal guardians found? This makes no sense, and if the proper legal guardians were their families, were they here illegally as well not be be considered proper?

Another Obama Policy Amnesty!!!!!!!!!!!

This is not what the law says to do. It says to deport illegal aliens and it does not say give them permission to return.

Enforce our laws!!!!!!!!!

Dixie

3 teens let back in US after sent to Mexico
By AMY TAXIN Associated Press Writer
Posted: 06/18/2009 04:01:33 PM PDT
Updated: 06/18/2009 05:21:20 PM PDT


SAN DIEGO—Three high school students who were arrested last month on their way to school and sent to Mexico by Border Patrol agents have been allowed to return to the United States.
The teenagers, ranging from 15 to 17 years old, returned Wednesday to San Diego after the federal government allowed them to stay with their parents while they fight their cases in immigration court.

"I never imagined this would happen to me," Stephanie Jimenez, 16, said Thursday in Spanish. "I'm now with my family, I want to go to school, just like I always have."

The students' arrests on May 20 at a trolley station in Old Town San Diego provoked outrage among immigrant rights advocates who questioned whether border agents should be arresting children.

Lilia Velasquez, an immigration attorney representing the students, said authorities didn't follow required procedures, and failed to give the students a special form that outlines their right to speak with an adult.

"They treated this as any other raid," Velasquez said. "I think it is implicit of the mere fact they agreed to this rare type of procedure of paroling the students back into the U.S. that they did something wrong. And they want to do damage control."

Daryl Reed, a supervisory Border Patrol agent in San Diego, acknowledged the government rarely allows foreign citizens to enter the country for humanitarian reasons, but he denied any wrongdoing.

He said at least one of the teens spoke with a parent from the trolley station during the arrests and the teenagers signed a piece of paper agreeing to voluntarily return to Mexico without seeing an immigration judge.
"We did everything by the book," Reed said.

Jimenez said she and two other students were arrested after a man in plainclothes started talking to her, flashed his Border Patrol badge and asked whether she had any legal papers.

Jimenez said she dialed her mother quickly on her cell phone and was handcuffed and taken to a station. She said her fingerprints were taken and she was told to sign a piece of paper that let her be taken to Mexico. The students were then turned over to a Mexican social services official at the border.

For nearly a month, she and another student have been staying with a family friend in Tijuana. It was not clear where the third student stayed.

Velasquez declined to reveal the teens' immigration status or nationality. Reed said the students told Border Patrol agents they were undocumented and originally from Mexico.

The government will continue trying to deport the teens, who will fight their case in immigration court. Velasquez said she expects the students will have a hearing in a month or two.

"What if this were to happen again? All the schools would be empty," Velasquez said. "This is not the message we want to send out to the public. It is not good policy, and it is wrong."

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12622240

"What if this were to happen again? All the schools would be empty," Velasquez said. "This is not the message we want to send out to the public. It is not good policy, and it is wrong."

Is he admitting that the majority of students are Illegal Aliens?

If all the schools would be empty....so much for diversity, I guess it only has to be diverse if its all white!

Excuse me, where are the blacks, asians, whites????? etc.

Originally Posted by SOSADFORUS

If all the schools would be empty....so much for diversity, I guess it only has to be diverse if its all white!

Excuse me, where are the blacks, asians, whites????? etc.

Because Blacks, asians, whites do not count with racists like Velasquez! It's only hispanics that matter!

]"What if this were to happen again? All the schools would be empty," Velasquez said.

That would sure save California a lot of money.

Originally Posted by SOSADFORUS

If all the schools would be empty....so much for diversity.

It's 'Diversity' at the start of the invasion, it's 'Mission Accomplished' at the end.

I have had it said to my face, "This is a Chinese neighborhood now, you should move." (apply a chinese accent and broken english)

Originally Posted by vortex

He said they were sent to Mexico after officials failed to find proper legal guardians for the teenagers in the United States.

If the teens were reunited with their families in San Diego, how come there were no proper legal guardians found? This makes no sense, and if the proper legal guardians were their families, were they here illegally as well not be be considered proper?

It sounds like the parents let the kids take care of themselves, so they wouldn't be deported. I thought illegals came here for a better life for their kids, yet they turn their backs on them and cover their own @$$ when push comes to shove. The girl called her mother and the mother didn't even go to the jail? She hid? Not one of these supposedly loving parents with family values went to Mexico to be with their deported child, and the kids were there for over a month. Nice.