Posted on 10/08/2005 2:24:33 AM PDT by beaversmom
BOSTON -- A 7-month-old baby waiting for a life-saving double lung transplant at Children's Hospital is caught in an immigration dispute.
NewsCenter 5's Amalia Barreda reported that Poppy Zegger-Murphy is an American citizen, but her parents are not.
"(Poppy's) a very fragile baby and she has been described as living on a knife's edge and sometimes she can just fall," said mother Philomena Zegger-Murphy.
Poppy was born with an unknown disease that requires her to have a double lung transplant. Her mother is British and her father is Canadian. Until recently, he worked in Atlanta under a North American Free Trade Agreement visa that was denied by immigration when he went to renew it.
"We might not agree with their decision, but if it's a sound legal decision, that's fine. But then it highlights the fact that there must be something wrong with the law. If our daughter is an American citizen, I'm Canadian, Philly's British -- it's not like we're terrorists, it's not like we're trying to do anything wrong. We're just trying to sustain ourselves," said father Christopher Zegger-Murphy.
The couple said they need green cards to stay in this country while they wait for their baby to get her lung transplant. While immigration said it is very sympathetic to their situation, a spokesman explained immigration law does not allow legal permanent residency based on medical care or for humanitarian reasons. A family member or an employer must sponsor anyone applying for a green card. Right now, the family does not have either one.
"It's just unbelievable that we would find ourselves caught between two countries where we can't support ourselves. We can't leave here nor can we go anywhere else. And our daughter here is critically ill and we don't want to be anywhere else," said Philomena Zegger-Murphy.
The Zegger-Murphys said they are now surviving on donations and the help of hospital foundation money. They have an $800 a month COBRA insurance bill that will run out in another year. The Poppy's medical bills have already reached $2 million.
# To contact the family, send an e-mail to: zeggermurphy@yahoo.com
Canada has that great free health care. Take the up there to have the operation.
Take the baby up to Canada to have the operation, since they have such great free government health care that they love to brag about so much.
My mother had to put her house down as collateral for my aunt's breast cancer surgery. My aunt already had a green card and was legal. I just to get very upset when I read stories like this but I don't anymore. Nothing you can really do. It's the price you pay for being honest. This country teaches you to lie and be a liar.
"But then it highlights the fact that there must be something wrong with the law. If our daughter is an American citizen, I'm Canadian, Philly's British"
I agree that there is something wrong with the law. The baby should not be an American citizen just because the baby was born in America.
WTF did they bring over here...w/sarcasm, but what isn't able to be diagnosed these days?
if the kid and her parents were illegal aliens from Mexico, they'd be getting a government-sponsored free ride weeks ago!
The child will be eligible for Medicaid when her insurance expires. The issue is the green card for the parents.
Why the Mexican bashing?
It's because of bureaucratic nonsense like this that I bend a lot of rules where I work. Fortunately, I am blessed with a boss who groks the results I get above all else.
Will keep your aunt in my prayers. Best wishes and God bless.
This page provides information on Canadians entering the United States as business persons under the terms of NAFTA.
http://www.amcits.com/nafta.asp
I'm sorry to say this was a long time ago and by the time she got here, it was already too late :( I would hate to be these parents with this situation. When you try to do things the legal way, you do get burned. You can say platitudes like 'oh it's the right to do,etc.etc.' but I know someone right now getting a green card and has to do pay $30,000 to get it (don't get me started on immigration lawyers!). I thought that once the INS switched over to Homeland Security, things would be better. Guess not!
When my husband and I were stationed in Germany, we had two sons. They were both born in a german hospital. We are both US citizens. Do my kids born in Germany get dual citizenship? No.
I'm starting to think that the nation needs to have national referenda on these issues. It's obvious that the drones in Washington D.C. aren't going to squat about these very serious issues.
FYI:
As of January 1, 2000, a child born in Germany to non-German parents automatically acquires German citizenship at birth by jus soli if: (1) at least one parent had lived legally in Germany for at least eight years prior to the birth; (2) at the time of the birth, that parent had a permanent residence permit (either an Aufenthaltsberichtigung or, for the three years prior to the birth, an unbefristete Aufenhaltserlaubnis). Note that:
a. The child must choose between German nationality and the nationality of his/her parents before he/she turns 23 years of age, unless it is legally impossible for him/her to give up his/her parents' nationality, in which case he/she must apply to the German authorities for dual nationality before turning 21.
b. Special rules apply to children born between February 2, 1990, and December 31, 1999, who have until December 31, 2000, to apply for German citizenship.
c. Those born in Germany to non-German parents before February 2, 1990, have no claim to German citizenship under this law.
d. For more information, please contact your local Staatsangehörigkeitsbehörde or the nearest office of the Ausländerbeirat (Foreigners Advisory Council).
I believe that there are politicians scared of initiatives and similar items. It puts too much power into the hands of the people. Of course you are right that this issue is being ignored by the pols. They have vested interest in this issue businesswise.
Yes, many GIs married to GERMAN women have the choice for their child born in Germany. But the two people with the sick baby are from Canada and England. I don't know how long they have been in the US. My husband and I are US citizens. Just because we had kids born in Germany doesn't mean the German gov't had any responsibility to take care of said kids. Why does the US grant citizenship to a child born here?
I think it's from the Bill of Rights and stems from slaves not being considered US citizens even though they were born here.
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