Thread: Illegal Migrant Samaritan Thought of Own Kids

Migrant Thought of Own Kids in Rescue

By AMANDA LEE MYERS


PHOENIX (AP) — An illegal immigrant who gave up his long walk into the U.S. to help a boy whose mother was killed in a van crash in the desert said Wednesday that he never thought of leaving the child.


"I am a father of four children. For that, I stayed," Manuel Jesus Cordova Soberanes said in Spanish from his home in the Mexican state of Sonora. "I never could have left him. Never."


Authorities said Cordova may have saved the life of 9-year-old Christopher Buztheitner, whose mother was killed when their van ran off a cliff in a remote area north of the Mexican border on Thanksgiving Day.


A spokeswoman for the Mexican consulate in Nogales said the office is working to obtain a short-term visa for Cordova so he can come to Arizona and be recognized for his actions.


The 26-year-old bricklayer was two days into his walk and about 50 miles from Tucson when he saw the boy, who had walked away from the crash.
In a telephone interview with The Associated Press from his home in Magdalena de Kino, Cordova said Christopher had scrapes on his leg and was dressed in shorts despite the desert cold.


The boy had his dog with him and was holding a side mirror from the wrecked van.


Neither Cordova nor Christopher spoke the other's language, but the boy took the migrant to the edge of a canyon and showed him the accident site.


Authorities said Christopher and his mother, 45-year-old Dawn Alice Tomko, had been in the area camping. Tomko was driving on a U.S. Forest Service road when she lost control of the van, which landed 300 feet from the road.


By the looks of the mangled van down below, Cordova said, it was obvious the boy's mother had died. The child was distraught but did not cry.
"I felt frustrated and sad because I couldn't do anything for the mother," Cordova said. "And I didn't know how to console the boy, so I just sat next to him."


Cordova gave the boy the sweater he was wearing, climbed down to the van, and found chocolate and cookies to feed him.


He then built a bonfire, and the two hunkered down. The boy slept most of the night; Cordova kept watch and tended the fire.


Fourteen hours later, a group of hunters found the pair and called for help. U.S. Border Patrol agents took Cordova into custody, and Christopher was flown to a hospital in Tucson.


Christopher was reunited with family over the weekend; a message left with his uncle was not immediately returned Wednesday.


Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada said Cordova is "very, very special and compassionate" and may have saved the boy's life.


Adriana Hoyos Rodriguez, the mayor of Magdalena de Kino, called Cordova a hero. "He left everything to save that boy," she said.


Cordova said he wanted to come to the United States to earn money to feed his four children, who live with their mother, and help support his girlfriend's three children. "I have two families, many mouths to feed," he said.


He said that even though his trip was thwarted, he is glad to be back home and wishes Christopher the best. "I hope he has a good life," he said.
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Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

as vocal as I am about Illegal aliens.. this man did a unselfish deed and I hope that gets him into heaven... but I am still not sure it should give him a path to citizenship as some news anchors would like

I think that ths man deserves a reward but that the reward should be a piece of land to build himself a commercial property in Magdalena de Kino. An Amnesty supporter would have the man, all seven of his children, his wife and his girlfriend all get new green cards. Mexico can be a good place to live and I think that this man realizes it. To the Open Border Lobby this man is a symbol that they would use cynically even if it means ripping up his families roots to move them here. God forbid they would say if a person who they favor was to be moved south but they have no such compunctions moving them all north.

I don't know about bringing so many kids into the world he couldn't afford, but I still think the man has a big heart. The child was lucky to be found by him.

It was a great thing to do - no doubt about it.

I'm all for taking up a collection, giving him enough money to build himself a life - in Mexico.

Yes, it will get him kudos from God - but shouldn't get him citizenship in America.

Yes, that man did a good deed. But, illegal is illegal. He knowingly broke the law by entering the U.S. without proper documents. It was totally necessary that he was/is deported.

Rescuing that lost kid IS commendable, but entering OUR country ILLEGALLY is NOT!

I don't know why this is considered such a good deed. I think it would be terrible if he had left him there to fend for himself. I would like to think that anyone in that situation would help the kid. I mean, how could you leave a 9 year old alone out there?

Originally Posted by Lynne

I don't know why this is considered such a good deed. I think it would be terrible if he had left him there to fend for himself. I would like to think that anyone in that situation would help the kid. I mean, how could you leave a 9 year old alone out there?

I agree. This man is no saint. He simply did the responsible thing and looked after a child who needed looking after.

I say pat him on the back, give him a thumbs up, and then send him back to Mexico.

Adriana Hoyos Rodriguez, the mayor of Magdalena de Kino, called Cordova a hero. "He left everything to save that boy," she said.

Exactly what did he leave to save the boy? Personally, I don't think he did anything that 99% of the American population wouldn't have done.

A spokeswoman for the Mexican consulate in Nogales said the office is working to obtain a short-term visa for Cordova so he can come to Arizona and be recognized for his actions.

The Mexican government and MSM probably want to milk this story for all it's worth.