Man denied entry to US from Mexico to bury son, 10

[Judi Lynn]

Last edited Sun Apr 1, 2012, 01:46 AM - Edit history (2)

Source: Associated Press

Man denied entry to US from Mexico to bury son, 10
March 31, 2012 5:43 PM

ALLENTOWN, Pa.

A Mexican national said he has been barred from entering the United States to bury his 10-year-old son, a U.S. citizen who died Tuesday in a house fire in northeastern Pennsylvania that killed three other people.

Attorneys for Fidelmar "Fidel" Merlos-Lopez are trying to win humanitarian parole so he can attend the funeral, but say U.S. Customs and Border Protection has rebuffed their efforts.

Damien Lopez died in a Shenandoah row house along with his cousin, aunt and 7-month-old half-brother. The funeral is set for Monday, with burial the next day.

"I told the customs officer that all I want is a permit to see my boy for one last time. They treat me as if I am a criminal," Lopez, 34, a bus driver, said in an interview Saturday. "Right now, I need their support, and they are refusing to help me."

Read more: http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/nnews/news11.shtml

---

Had to return to get the link right. Same site, wrong article. Sorry.

[midnight]

1. I do not understand this horrible breach in diplomacy. Don't our diplomates get paid to handle this?

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Which part of illegal does this father not understand?

[mucifer]

3. We see this often in pediatric hospice.

Kids don't usually get to say goodbye to parents who were deported.

Years ago the government was more lenient.

Skype can be better than a phone call if the family can afford computers. It's really sad. Grandparents uncles aunts the families are very divided and can't get special visas.
We had a family that Senator Dick Durban wrote a letter to let siblings of a dying child visit from another country (the parents are here legally ) and homeland security said no.

[Riftaxe]

4. I didn't know Lin was Mexican,

and knee surgery on top of it all!

PS. Might want to check your link it goes to "Lin needs knee surgery, likely done for season"

[Snake Alchemist]

7. Hilarious! nt

[Justice wanted]

5. I hate this country more and more! Where the F is our humanity and heart.

[provis99]

6. link doesn't work.

[Judi Lynn]

8. Sorry it took your comment for me to check and correct it. Thank you. n/t

[Honeycombe8]

10. Link still doesn't work. Wrong article. nt

[MADem]

9. This totally sucks.

Lopez was a teenager when he entered the United States illegally in 1995 and wound up in Shenandoah, a blue-collar town with a large Hispanic population. He married a U.S. citizen who gave birth to Damien in 2002. He later divorced Damien's mother and married his current wife, Danielle Lopez, who's also a U.S. citizen.

In 2007, police in nearby Frackville stopped Lopez for running a red light and turned him over to immigration authorities. He agreed to leave the U.S. voluntarily and began the process of applying for legal permanent residence.

Surin, his immigration lawyer, said he was well on his way to getting his green card and rejoining his family in Shenandoah when tragedy struck.

"He's trying to comply, trying to follow the rules of U.S. immigration law, but they are using that against him now. This whole thing is really heart-wrenching," she said.

http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/nnews/news11.shtml

[obxhead]

11. Link still goes to knee surgery story.

[tawadi]

12. Try this one

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/03/31/national/a112741D86.DTL

[sulphurdunn]

13. A colleague

of mine's father-in law died 3 months ago after returning from Saudi Arabia for cancer treatment at the VA. He was a retired military officer. Not only did the military keep him on ice (literally) for 3 months before releasing his remains for burial but refused to allow his wife, who is a citizen of the Philippines and was living with him in Saudi Arabia, to enter the US for the funeral.