“I was introduced to a ‘man’ I’ve never seen. He held my hand, as I boarded an airplane for the first time!”. This is how Jose Antonio Vargas (Jose), the celebrated Pulitzer prize-winning Filipino journalist, described his departure for the United States. It was 1993 and he was 12 years old at the time. Fast-forward to 2011 and Jose revealed publicly that he is an undocumented immigrant.
Ordinarily, Filipinos travel by plane to go to the United States and young Filipino travelers are typically accompanied by their parents or guardians. This is not, however, always the case. What happens when young immigrants enter fraudulently, unaccompanied by their ‘real’ parent and left in America for many years without documentation?
Paul was 15 years old when his mother told him that he was going to the United States for a vacation. He was a junior in high school and could not contain his excitement. Unknown to him, his mother paid a ‘consultant/agent’ a significant sum of money to obtain a U.S. visa for Paul.
Just like Jose Vargas, Paul was met at the airport by the ‘consultant/agent’ and was introduced to a couple. His mother exhorted Paul to follow instructions from this couple who would accompany him to the United States. Paul trusted his mother and obediently accepted whatever ‘guidance’ the couple gave him.
A few minutes prior to landing in U.S. soil, Paul was told that he should now answer to the name “Rob”. He was shown a passport for “Rob” but with Paul’s photo in it. Paul, while he found it strange, did not question the change. After all, he was very much excited and looking forward to meeting his cousins who were to take him to different tourist places in California. Upon his arrival in the United States, Paul and the couple who accompanied him presented their travel documents with their visas to the immigration officer. They were admitted. As expected, Paul was met by his cousins at the airport and took him to their Los Angeles home. Paul has no knowledge of what happened to the “Rod” passport that he used to enter the US. He last saw it in the possession of the couple who accompanied him.
After a few weeks in the United States, Paul began to realize that he was not going home. He was not averse to staying as he preferred to continue his studies in the United States with his cousins. After several years have passed, Paul realized that he is an undocumented youth. He could not apply to certain colleges because he realized he did not have the proper legal documents they were requiring for enrollment. Nevertheless, he finished his studies at a City College. After graduation, he could not get a job because he lacked the necessary employment authorization to work. What happens to Paul now? Will he be deported back to the Philippines? Why are some parents sending their children abroad without ensuring that their children’s immigration statuses are in place?
Liability of Minors for Fraud
After many years of residing in the United States, those who arrived as minors with fraudulent travel documents and visas find it difficult to adjust to a lawful permanent resident status. Current US immigration laws provide only limited ways to gain legal status. In June 2012, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (commonly called the “DACA”) allowed undocumented youths who arrived before 2007 and who are between the ages 15 to 31 to obtain permission to work and travel under the DACA policy of President Obama.
Others who are not eligible to avail of the benefits of DACA will have to find other options to legalize their stay. But the bigger issue is whether children like Paul, who entered with an assumed name, may be prevented from obtaining legal status because of the fraud that was committed in gaining entry into the US. Generally, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services impute the parent’s fraud on the minor children. There are precedent cases that USCIS use as basis to deny visas because of the fraud. In 2008, the case of Malik v. Mukasey (7th Cir) imputed the fraud of a parent to a 17 year old child depriving the latter of the ability to obtain legal status. There are, however, cases from other federal circuit courts that hold a contrary ruling. This means that the issue is still open to argument, depending on the circumstances of each case.
Surge of Undocumented Children at the Border
Unlike Mexico and the Central American countries, the Philippines is halfway across the world. While different in circumstances as Filipino children who were transported unlawfully to the United States, the surge of undocumented children at the border currently in the news share one thing in common: the actions of these children’s parents are fueled, in large part, by a desire to do what they believe is in their children’s best interest. As in the case of Jose Antonio Vargas, he recounted that his mother wanted to give him a ‘better’ life. Regardless of the reason behind such actions, however, it is clear that the minor children do not have the capacity to make these life-altering decisions for themselves.
Many of the minors arriving at the US-Mexican border come here based on erroneous information that they will be given legal status to stay once they set foot on US soil. They have been instructed to turn themselves in to the first border patrol officer they see. The hope, of course, is that once they turn themselves in, they will be processed and be allowed to stay. They may or may not be allowed to stay depending on the circumstances of their individual situations. Unfortunately, many will not qualify for residency and many will be deported.
There could be a distinction among the unaccompanied alien children at the U.S.-Mexican border and the innocent ‘accompanied by strangers’ children of Filipinos who were transported here. Many of those coming from Central America are escaping from “life or death” situations in their homeland. The young Filipinos are oftentimes victims of unscrupulous agents/consultants who prey on innocent children aspiring to have better futures. Unfortunately, both are suffering the unintended consequences of decisions made by their parents. Both are vulnerable to being deported back to their homeland.
(Atty. Lourdes S. Tancinco may be reached at law@tancinco.com, (02)721 1963, tancinco.weareph.com/old or find her at facebook.com/tancincolaw)
