U.S. immigration law drives husband, wife apart (green card, married, born)

[ArizonaBear]

It was the Christmas holidays. Brown was visiting his wife, Virginia Carrillo, and son, Bryan. Their separation began in September the day the family applied for legal status for Carrillo, Brown's illegal-immigrant wife.

They hoped Carrillo would qualify for a green card based on her marriage and child to Brown. Instead, Carrillo was barred from returning to the U.S. for 10 years.

Now, the family is forced to live separately on opposite sides of the U.S.-Mexican border.

Arizona Republic article (broken link)

As anti illegal immigrant I may be; the 10 year ban from re-entering the USA under the above circumstances does not set right with me.

Why I say that is one parent is is a US citizen which by default makes the child an American automatically-------Bryon is not an Anchor Baby.

I am OK with keeping the mother in Mexico for 1-3 years then allowing her to return provided she pays some fines and/or does community service.

Now; if both parents were illegal; they should be banned for the ten years.

[LuckyLoki]

HAHAHA, thats funny, she was here illegally so she suffers the consequences. thats life.

[Convert 54]

Dang thats a hard one................
Yes one is a legal citizen...one is a born citizen.............well actually two are born citizens....................pay the fine for the wife and call it even.............
I dont recall if the article mentioned just how long she was here?????

OK answered my own question. She was here since 2000. Smuggled in.....
Married to a gringo to stay here............Dang, I dont know.......its tuff...............

[Kele]

This is a difficult situation indeed. On the one hand, she broke the law by entering illegally, but on the other hand, she is married to an American citizen and her child, having one citizen parent rightfully should qualify for citizenship.

In this case (and others like it) while I do not agree whatsoever with the method in which she got here, this same government, which is forcing her to live apart from her husband and child for ten years, turns a blind eye to the millions of illegal aliens in this country flaunting our laws right under their noses.

Give the poor woman a green card. At least she, unlike many others, attempted to become a legal citizen. She should have to pay a hefty fine, but she should be granted residency.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by ArizonaBear

Arizona Republic article

As anti illegal immigrant I may be; the 10 year ban from re-entering the USA under the above circumstances does not set right with me.

Why I say that is one parent is is a US citizen which by default makes the child an American automatically-------Bryon is not an Anchor Baby.

I am OK with keeping the mother in Mexico for 1-3 years then allowing her to return provided she pays some fines and/or does community service.

Now; if both parents were illegal; they should be banned for the ten years.

It's quite easy for a spouse to get papers if the couple follows the law -- I would wonder why they did not.

Likely she was here illegally and the couple figured they could just bypass the laws and just avoid the paperwork and small fees altogether. Or she has a criminal record of some kind and could not pass the background checks if following the legal process.

The family doesn't have to be separated -- the husband could move to Mexico to be with her -- family reunification doesn't just have to be in one country.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by Kele

This is a difficult situation indeed. On the one hand, she broke the law by entering illegally, but on the other hand, she is married to an American citizen and her child, having one citizen parent rightfully should qualify for citizenship.

In this case (and others like it) while I do not agree whatsoever with the method in which she got here, this same government, which is forcing her to live apart from her husband and child for ten years, turns a blind eye to the millions of illegal aliens in this country flaunting our laws right under their noses.

Give the poor woman a green card. At least she, unlike many others, attempted to become a legal citizen. She should have to pay a hefty fine, but she should be granted residency.

I would certainly have to know more about why they chose not to follow the laws in the first place. An awful lot of men bring over foreign brides -- including from Mexico.

To me this is equivalent of embezzlement or tax fraud -- certainly not a violent crime but people deliberately breaking the law and then thinking they should be given a pass.

[Kele]

Originally Posted by malamute

I would certainly have to know more about why they chose not to follow the laws in the first place. An awful lot of men bring over foreign brides -- including from Mexico.

To me this is equivalent of embezzlement or tax fraud -- certainly not a violent crime but people deliberately breaking the law and then thinking they should be given a pass.

I'm not saying that she should be given a pass. There should be some sort of consequences rendered, but ten years of non-entry is ridiculous especially given our federal government's hypocrisy regarding those who enter this country illegally. The boy who ran off with his teacher to Mexico is given citizenship, along with his entire family, but this woman is kept apart from her husband and child?

Give me a break. Unless the government intends to apply the law fairly across the entire illegal population in this country, incidents like this merely serve to highlight the speciousness of this entire situation and our immigration enforcement in general.

[blacknight04]

Originally Posted by malamute

It's quite easy for a spouse to get papers if the couple follows the law -- I would wonder why they did not.

Likely she was here illegally and the couple figured they could just bypass the laws and just avoid the paperwork and small fees altogether. Or she has a criminal record of some kind and could not pass the background checks if following the legal process.

The family doesn't have to be separated -- the husband could move to Mexico to be with her -- family reunification doesn't just have to be in one country.

I love the self righteous attitude, did you even take the time to read the story before making assumptions about her having a criminal record and avoiding paper work etc? How is the father going to work and support his family if he moves to mexico?

Brown has had trouble coping with the separation. He stayed in his house in Mesa with the lights off for days after Carrillo and Bryan stayed in Mexico. He started overeating and gained 10 pounds the first three weeks. He has sought emotional help from a counselor at work.

"A lot of it was just depression, deep depression," Brown said.

Bracamonte doubts the State Department will reopen the couple's case. He said their case should serve as a cautionary tale.

"What I'm seeing is thousands of spouses of U.S. citizens locked into illegal status because the only solution requires a 10-year separation from their family," Bracamonte said. "Most people are not going to choose that. It's inhumane."

Brown tries to see his family once a month. In October and November, he met Carrillo and Bryan for a weekend in Nogales, on the Mexican side of the border. And Bryan came to stay with him in Mesa for two weeks during Thanksgiving.

[blacknight04]

Originally Posted by Kele

I'm not saying that she should be given a pass. There should be some sort of consequences rendered, but ten years of non-entry is ridiculous especially given our federal government's hypocrisy regarding those who enter this country illegally. The boy who ran off with his teacher to Mexico is given citizenship, along with his entire family, but this woman is kept apart from her husband and child?

Give me a break. Unless the government intends to apply the law fairly across the entire illegal population in this country, incidents like this merely serve to highlight the speciousness of this entire situation and our immigration enforcement in general.

The minor who was raped by his teacher was a crime victim and therefore qualified for legal status as long as he helped authorities bring that pedophile of a teacher to justice.

[Kele]

Originally Posted by blacknight04

The minor who was raped by his teacher was a crime victim and therefore qualified for legal status as long as he helped authorities bring that pedophile of a teacher to justice.

That doesn't justify citizenship for him or his lawbreaking family.