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  1. #1
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    Kayla series creates questions on immigration status, visas

    http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/n ... 710607.htm










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    Posted on Sun, Oct. 08, 2006



    Kayla series creates questions on immigration status, visas

    RICK THAMES


    Last month, the Observer published "What will happen to Kayla?," a six-part story about one family's plight -- and one child's future -- after the arrest of her illegal immigrant mother.

    The story, part of our yearlong focus on the impact of illegal immigration on the Carolinas and the nation, introduced readers to 11-year-old Kayla Ramírez, a star Union County student who is one of 3.1 million children in this country who are U.S. citizens by birth, but have at least one parent living here illegally.

    Kayla's mother, Deysi, was arrested in March and deported to Guatemala for failing to follow through on her U.S. asylum paperwork eight years ago. Deysi and her partner Ray, also an illegal immigrant, faced a choice -- should they keep Kayla in the U.S. with an aunt or send her to Guatemala, and its deep pockets of poverty and poor education?

    They decided Kayla, along with her younger brother and sister, would live with their mother in Guatemala.

    The series prompted passionate responses from readers, who debated Kayla's plight, her parents' illegal status and U.S. immigration policy. Several had questions about immigration issues. Answers are supplied by reporters Dánica Coto and Peter St. Onge, who wrote "What will happen to Kayla?"

    Q. Why don't immigrants such as Deysi and Ray come here legally?

    The usual wait for a visa is five to 10 years, although that depends on what country the applicant is from and whether the applicant has family members who are U.S. citizens.

    Neither Deysi nor Ray had family members who were U.S. citizens. They also didn't have specific job skills that would earn them an employment-based visa. Other immigrants have said they can't afford to wait for a visa because they live in dire poverty or because the costs of hiring an attorney to apply for a visa are prohibitive.

    Q. How can Deysi Ramírez's three children remain in Guatemala? Do they have dual citizenship?

    Guatemala allows for dual citizenship, said Héctor Palacios Lima, first secretary and consul at the Guatemalan Embassy in Washington.

    Deysi Ramírez said she will file paperwork so her three children can become Guatemalan citizens.

    Q. Can Deysi and Ray become legal U.S. residents? Who can help them obtain this status?

    Once Deysi's and Ray's children turn 21, they can petition for their parents to become legal residents. If the petitions are approved, Deysi and Ray wouldn't have to wait for a visa. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, including parents, spouses and unmarried children under 21 don't have to wait, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

    Deysi Ramírez is barred from entering the U.S. for another 10 years as a result of her deportation. She can, however, apply for a waiver. If Ray wanted to obtain legal status, he'll have to leave the country, triggering a 10-year ban from the U.S. (Paperwork required for the visa would show he was in the U.S. illegally.)

    Q. Is Deysi's life still endangered in her hometown in Guatemala? And, if so, would she still be able to seek asylum in the U.S.?

    Deysi came to the U.S. in 1994 at the urging of her father, who worried about her safety after her brother, Samuel, disappeared in Guatemala. The family believes Samuel, a police officer, was killed after investigating police corruption.

    The family, which said it received death threats in the 1990s, has not reported any recent threats. If they received any, Deysi could apply for a waiver to the 10-year ban on her return to the United States and petition for asylum.

    Q. Do illegal immigrants drain money for public services such as education and free medical care?

    Estimates vary on how much illegal immigrants cost federal and state governments -- or whether they present an overall benefit to the economy.

    A 2004 study reported that illegal immigrants cost the federal government $10 billion a year, including Medicaid, federal prison and court costs, plus federal aid to schools. That report was published by the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that favors tougher immigration policies. Many researchers disputed its findings.

    A 2006 study by researchers at UNC Chapel Hill estimated that North Carolina's Hispanic population contributed about $756 million annually in taxes (direct and indirect) while costing the state budget about $817 million annually for education, health care and corrections. The net cost to the state: $61 million, or $102 per Hispanic resident.

    In the study, which was conducted with cooperation from the Mexican Consulate of Raleigh, the UNC researchers said those costs are offset by Hispanics' contribution to the state's "economic output and cost competitiveness in a number of key industries."

    Q. Why was Deysi Ramírez arrested at the traffic stop in Monroe, but not her partner, Ray, who admitted to a trooper that he is an illegal immigrant?

    N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper C.M. Trouille told the Observer he wanted to arrest Ray at the March 26 stop for being in the U.S. illegally, but that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent told him to arrest only Deysi Ramírez. Deysi had a warrant for her arrest for not following through on asylum paperwork eight years ago.

    Trouille said that ICE officials are generally not interested in illegal immigrants who commit only minor traffic offenses. Ray, as a passenger in the car, had committed no traffic violation.

    ICE spokesperson Mike Gilhooley, who affirmed the conversation between Trouille and ICE, declined to comment on why Ray wasn't arrested. Joan Larson, a Charlotte immigration attorney who is a former U.S. immigration official in Houston, told the Observer that ICE generally concentrates on terrorists and felons, but if a warrant such as Deysi's appears on the radar, officials will act on it.

    Some cities and counties are taking a more aggressive approach toward illegal immigrant arrests. A program begun this year by Mecklenburg County Sheriff Jim Pendergraph places any Mecklenburg County jail inmate identified as an illegal immigrant into removal proceedings, regardless of the inmate's crime. Most cities and counties place illegal immigrants into deportation proceedings for felonies and high-profile cases, but not misdemeanors.


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    Reach Thames at 704-358-5001 or rthames@charlotteobserver.com





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    © 2006 Charlotte Observer and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
    http://www.charlotte.com
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  2. #2
    Senior Member TexasCowgirl's Avatar
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    I didn't have any of those questions after reading the articles. I thought this is a perfect example of how deporting illegal parents will also deport their anchor babies as well.

    I guess my only question is : when will they visit our good fiend Elvira?
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