Ga. senator's wife turns self in

AP via Yahoo! News ^ | December 5, 2006 | DANIEL YEE

[King of Florida]

ATLANTA - The Colombia-born wife of a Georgia state senator, who had been in hiding as federal immigration officials try to deport her, turned herself in Tuesday to face an order to remove her from the country.

Sascha Herrera, 28, arrived at the Martin Luther King Federal Building shortly before 8 a.m. to face authorities in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office.

"I'm very nervous right now," Herrera said. "I think I'm doing the right thing. I hope my name and my husband's name is clean."

Her husband, State Sen. Curt Thompson said, "The main goal is to make sure after the interview that they will allow Sascha to go home."

She had been in hiding since Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrived at her home Nov. 28 with an order to remove her from the U.S. She was not home at the time.

Her attorney, Charles Kuck, claims she was duped by a man handling her immigration requests and that she never received the immigration notices that triggered her deportation order.

Kuck filed a petition Monday to stay her deportation order and reopen her case, arguing that a man filed an asylum petition on her behalf without her knowledge and before her husband sponsored her green card application based on their April marriage.

[From One - Many]

I had to come back for this one and I'm still LOL.
Such silliness to blame the notario.

[swain_forkbeard]

I don't care whose wife that pic wasn't. The woman in that picture is not guilty.

[doc30]

I have no sympathy for either of them. They broke the law. My son went through the process with his wife. My son married a lady from Australia. Everything was done legally. For this case, the law was violated. Please don't try to blame the breaking of the law on the notary. Blaming the notary is just plain silly, and suspect at best.

And this couple did exactly what your son did. What would you do if ICE came to your daughter-in-law's door seeking to deport her after everything you knew they did for her to be here legally? You know they filed the paperwork and paid fees. They may have had a lawyer assist them, too. That's just what happened with this couple and that is not a violation of the law? Based on your own arguements, then, you beleive that someone is guilty of something they know they didn't do because someone else, either their representative or the government, screwed up the paperwork. My advice, be careful comparing this situation with that of your family. Your family could very easily have been in the same situation and I'd expect you to call your son and daughter-in-law law breakers, even though it wasn't anything they did.

[indcons]

LOL....praying for you.

[YellowRoseofTx]

If your son and his wife spent thousands of dollars on lawyers and fees, hundreds of pages of paperwork etc.. then I'm sorry to say your son received did infact receive shabby advice.

It had nothing to do with "advice" from anyone. They did the paper work the government sent them with a list of charges or fees for filing the paper work in each step of the process, the attorney fees, the trip costs, costs for translations of Japanese documents, etc. all added up. They may have been the victims of a corrupt process but it had nothing to do with advice. I told them if she had been mexican or latin descent, it would have been easier and less costly.

[From One - Many]

Wrong, my son and his wife have never had this problem. I suppose there are ways to keep from violating law(s) where one doesn't get the 'visit'. LOL

[raybbr]

I don't care whose wife that pic wasn't. The woman in that picture is not guilty.

Wipe the drool off before your keys get stuck...

[metmom]

OK. They do look alike, though.

[metmom]

This'll make your day.....

Immigrant Wins in Drug Deportation Case
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1748769/posts

[doc30]

Who issued the order to remove her frome the country? Also If you can, please tell me which laws, as a legal citizen, I am allowed to ignore. One last question, if Sascha Herrera is so intent on becoming a U.S. citizen, why doesn't she feel the need to assimilate and take her husbands last name? Something like Sascha Thompson or Sascha Herrera-Thompson? I'll bet she never leaves Senator out when speaking of her husband!

...Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrived at her home Nov. 28 with an order to remove her from the U.S. ...

The deportation order stems from Herrera's repeated failure to appear before a judge on the asylum application...

For your first question, she is entitled to due process under the law. TO deport someone, you need an order to appear. And you are entitled to appeal a deportation order.

Secondly, what does changing her last name have to do with the price of tea in China? I know many people, immigrant and U.S. Citizen that do not change their surnames for a variety of practical reasons. That's their business, not your or mine. It is not a legal requirement and it is irrelevant to this case. And she did the proper thing by turning herself in. Botched paperwork, the root cause of this situation, is not something anyone with common sense would hold against someone. I don't see any wrongdoing here. What would you do if you believed you were doing everything properly in a complex legal situation and then found out everything was a mess and your future and your family were on a precipice as a result?

[doc30]

Wrong, my son and his wife have never had this problem. I suppose there are ways to keep from violating law(s) where one doesn't get the 'visit'. LOL

Actually, what your sone and daughter-in-law did was no different that what happened in this story. The difference is that their paperwork was properly filed and their cases adjudicated without any problems. In this case, the woman thought the case was properly filed, just like your family did, but in reality, it was seriously screewed up. Because she did enter the country legally, she had due process to appeal her order, turned herself if, most likely after realizing her notary is a crook and getting good legal advice. According to later posts, the judge ruled in her favor. Do you disagree with this judge? Even ICE agrees not to persue this matter any further. I don't consider this a willful violation of U.S. immigration laws or an attempt to defraud immigration. The outcome is as it should be.

[antisocial]

"I WOULD RATHER HAVE AN AMERICA LOVING PERSON COME HERE ILLEGALLY THAN AN AMERICA HATING BASTARD TO COME HERE LEGALLY (remember Mr. Atta?)"

A real American would want to stop both.

[ConservaTexan]

For your first question, she is entitled to due process under the law. TO deport someone, you need an order to appear. And you are entitled to appeal a deportation order.

I am confident that those issues were addressed at the hearings at which Herrera's repeated failure to appear before a judge on the asylum application was an issue.

what does changing her last name have to do with the price of tea in China?

It has nothing to do with tea, China or monetary exchange rates. I was using it to show the extent she is willing to (not) go to assimilate. If you can’t handle that concept, let it go, it is not that important.

What would you do if you believed you were doing everything properly in a complex legal situation and then found out everything was a mess and your future and your family were on a precipice as a result?

I am not sure what I would do, but I am sure I would not go into hiding for 7-8 days while my lawyer dreamt up some flimsy ‘it’s not me it was the other three’ scenario.

[gubamyster]

ping

[Jane Austen]

Yes, both types should be stopped from coming here.

Nearly all of the illegal aliens have no love for this country, they won't even learn the language.

Why does anyone expect them to love us? They know nothing about us before coming here. Same for legal immigrants.

[Old Professer]

And those two guys in Texas didn't have to leave the door open for the cops to find them playing mattress polo, either, but it sure got our attention.

[Recall]

I'm sorry but she should be deported. She is here illegally. As for Columbia how do you excuse granting her asylum when our govt is (as we speak) sending illegals back to Columbia. Haven't you read about the gang affiliated illegals we have been deporting. Some are in Columbia now with thier gang tatoos and they claim they can't speak Spanish as they were raised here.

[Recall]

Aren't you leaving out something!! It should read:

if you meet someone from a foreign country WHO IS HERE LEGALLY and marry them, that person is entitled to remain here and apply for adjustment of status. It's only if you met them before they entered the country that they have to go back and then go through the paperwork.

Also, if you meet them before they come here they can come over on a fiance visa.

[zerosix]

The woman, who knew she was here illegally, her husband who also knew she was here illegally, wasn't "duped" by someone who "promised to take care of immigration status" but rather bought into a bogus deal (as do many people who have broken the rules and are looking for a quick "fix" and will "buy into anything").

Obviously this woman as well as her husband thought that the rules were for everyone else and got caught.

The rest of us who have followed the rules (laws to those of you in Rio Linda)are simply sick and tired of the rules/laws being bent in favor of lawbreakers and cheaters who jump in then demand that they be excused. No more or at least not much longer are the American public going to tolerate this in favor of the old "cheaper prices" any longer!

[King of Florida]

Have you read the thread or the articles? She was here legally. She entered on a tourist visa. (She then got a student visa, which was still valid when she got married.) Illegal immigrants enter the country illegally -- without any kind of visa.