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
Yeah, if a GI married a German woman, the baby was given citizenship rights. I am not German, nor is hubby. My kids were born in Germany in German hospitals. My kids were never considered German, nor do they have any citizenship rights in Germany. So, where do I sign up to get my 2 kids their German citizenship papers? Please do tell...awaiting incoming superior knowledge...
THAT was a very good post, and very true. It is simply amazing to me that Freepers express such disdain for government in every area but our immigration laws, and then act as though they arrived on the tablets with Moses from Mt. Sinai. Bring back the days of Ellis Island, where they asked you to bring your id papers, and only detained the WOPS (without papers) long enough to determine if you had criminal background.
Germany has no 14th amendment.
FYI: 1st son born in 1996, second son born in 1997.
Thats post #15...
As for why does the US grant citizenship to a child born here? Its the misinterpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Is there a prize going on on FR for the most number of ignorant falsehoods one can post on FR? I didn't read the previous post either. Such patent idiocy as the above makes it unnecessary.
1) Germany specifically does NOT "recognize citizenship" for all the Turkish babies born to guest workers. They can and do deport them without a second's thought. Same for Bosnians.
2) The problem with our misinterpretation of the 14 is precisely that there is nothing to misinterpret. It says clearly that ANYONE born in the USA has all the rights and priveleges of citizenship. Now it may be correct that the drafters of that amendment only DESIRED to end the diminuition of rights afforded to blacks born here, thus repealing all vestiges of Dred Scott...., and that they never anticipated the immigration problem we have. It may also be correct (and I believe it is!) that children born here to non-US citizens should only receive citizenship when their parents receive the same citizenship....., but that is not the law we have.
My solution on both the problems we have with immigration and the "child citizens" is to change our laws. Of course changing the visa entry requirements is far easier than amending the constitution, but I would love to see the 14th changed to properly address this situation.
I am confused on that, too. I have been repeatedly assured that there are no issues of racism surrounding the vehemence on immigration threads, only pure and lofty issues like respect for law and security concerns. You must be a liberal to bring up such a topic. Why don't you go over to Democratic Underground where you clearly belong, pinko? /sarcasm
They get a FREE Mercedes on their 18th birthday instead ;-)
Sick baby in hospital gets operation that your kid cannot afford, unless you have really good insurance or are independently wealthy.
Did they get free health care? Germany has socialized medicine you know.</sarcasm>
I think we will have one in November, watch for all your favorite RINO's to get right on this issue at least until after the primaries.
I'm very sorry about the infant, but the parents should never have been in the United States to copulate, impregnate, and grant her citizenship. The law needs to be changed. If both of your parents are illegal aliens, you should not get citizenship. In fact a requirement for citizenship should be that both parents are legal US citizens. It is not our responsibility to take care of every person in the world.
Indeed. That's why loads of propositions immediately wind up in court whenever the ACLU and other Leftists don't like whatever The People have demanded.
Canada OR Britain will do just fine. Those countries are ALWAYS extolling the virtues of their health systems. Of course, the American taxpayer won't be paying for it there but what the heck.
Who the hell names their kid "Poppy?" Poor baby's got two strikes against her already.
They should ask George Soros for the money.
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