Humboldt County Residents Will Convoy to S.F. to Demand Return of Woman Detained by ICE

true north immigrationPress release from True North:

At six am on Monday, June 18th a convoy from Humboldt and Del Norte Counties will embark on a six hour drive south to San Francisco Immigration Court to demand the return of their undocumented friend and neighbor Claudia Portillo, Arcata mother of four.

During a routine check-in appointment in November 2017, Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents unexpectedly detained Ms. Portillo and imprisoned her 555 miles away from her four daughters in the privately owned Mesa Verde ICE Processing Facility in Bakersfield, CA.

Just 33 years old, Ms. Portillo was born in El Salvador but has lived in the United States from age seven. Her four U.S. daughters, four rescued dogs, mother, two sisters, nieces, and brother await her return to Arcata, CA, where she has lived for the past four years.

“My sister has been stuck in detention for seven months. She has missed her daughters’ birthdays and graduations waiting for a bond hearing.” Explained Ms. Portillo’s sister Jenny Ventura. “That hearing was just scheduled for 1 pm on Monday, June 18th in San Francisco. We have to make it count.”

As soon as the news filtered out on Tuesday, June 12, community volunteer Billy Cook launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for Ms. Portillo’s bond.

Care for Ms. Portillo’s four daughters has fallen to family members. After seeing her mother for the first time in months via video call from detention, her eleven year old daughter Eliada Bernal Portillo sighed, “I just want my mom back, she made everyone laugh and we haven’t been happy without her.”

“We hope seeing Claudia’s neighbors and family drive 279 miles to San Francisco on a work day to plead for her return will help Judge O’Brien agree this is an easy ‘yes’,” explained Pastor Bethany Nass Cseh of Arcata United Methodist Church and Catalyst Church in Arcata.

Two convoys from Humboldt County will depart promptly at 6:30 am Monday, June 18th from in front of both the Arcata and Eureka locations of Los Bagels, a popular local bakery and cafe and donor of food for the journey. They will gather with clergy and allies at the San Francisco Immigration Court house at 12 noon that day, before filing into Ms. Portillo’s 1 pm hearing.

Judge Patrick S. O’Brien, who will hear Ms. Portillo’s bond plea, is one of only 334 immigration judges nationwide struggling to overcome an average backlog of 1,849 cases per judge. A 2017 article uncovered that only 15 percent of people in detentionare represented by an attorney in San Francisco’s immigration courts.

“Claudia is a strong, vital part of our community and is enduring something unthinkable for most of us… waiting in detention for more than 7 months! This is wrong! Claudia is not a criminal. She is a lovely human being who deserves better than this.” urged Mckinleyville, CA resident and True North Organizing Network Leader Lisa Enge.

Among the community groups mobilizing for Claudia Portillo’s return are True North Organizing Network, Arcata United Methodist Church, Catalyst Church, Humboldt Move to Amend, Centro Del Pueblo, among others.

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Lorrie
Guest
Lorrie
5 years ago

Come on does no one have a comment on this . This is a part our community and she our support. This is wrong and we need to stand up for her and family.

superd
Guest
superd
5 years ago
Reply to  Lorrie

you lost me at “undocumented”

Uhhhhduhhh
Guest
Uhhhhduhhh
5 years ago
Reply to  superd

Yeah bcuz 24 years living and working somewhere counts for nothing if you forget to sign the right paper in the right spot at the wrong time.
Obviously shes been keeping up with her paperwork. If someone wants to live here and be a contributing member of society who cares if theyre “citizens”???
Way better folks than most of the white trash idiots born in the states!!

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Uhhhhduhhh

Maybe better than racists hiding behind her?

Lt Joe
Guest
Lt Joe
5 years ago
Reply to  Uhhhhduhhh

Paperwork? After 24 years, why isn’t she a citizen?

Hubertus
Guest
Hubertus
5 years ago
Reply to  Lt Joe

Do you have any idea what that costs?

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Hubertus

$725.

https://www.us-immigration.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-apply-for-us-citizenship/

USCIS also grants fee waivers for those who cannot afford the naturalization application fees.

inter-species amplexus
Guest
inter-species amplexus
5 years ago
Reply to  Lt Joe

Taxes. Showing 24 years of tax returns, or even just seven will go a whole lot further than crying in court.

meow
Guest
meow
5 years ago
Reply to  Uhhhhduhhh

kym, some of us consider the term “white trash” to be an offensive racial slur. maybe even much worse than being compared to a rabbit – for example.

superd
Guest
superd
5 years ago
Reply to  Uhhhhduhhh

yep, forgot to sign….

Geewhiz
Guest
Geewhiz
5 years ago
Reply to  Uhhhhduhhh

If there are so many white trash people born in the US I wouldn’t want to live here, so why don’t you take her and go to El Salvador where you can both live where it is better?

Lyn Stevens
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Lorrie

I am so proud of you people.

Jdub
Guest
Jdub
5 years ago
Reply to  Lorrie

What is wrong about it. We don’t get to pick and choose what laws to be enforced. You can be sad, feel sorry for but I don’t think it’s wrong. She had 15 years as an adult living as an illegal, did she try to become a citizen? If not, that is wrong.

just me
Guest
just me
5 years ago
Reply to  Lorrie

good im glad they got her. she needs to go and the rest of them too. how many of them are on social service. only here do we put up with this. California has almost 3 million of them and it cost 23 billion to take care of these illegals . im 65 retired disabled and cant afford medical insurance or meds. what about the vets living in the streets. she should talk with her parents. they should go to. we didnt do this to them. trump has the right idea. lets take care of our own. and you people that think im a ass hole how many do you having living with you. or just lip service. wake up.

Esme
Guest
Esme
5 years ago
Reply to  just me

They are our own. They build our homes, grow and harvest our food, care for our kids and elderly, and pay taxes from their paychecks. Quit listening to Rush Limbaugh, etc, who says whatever riles people up and makes them keep tuning in. Wonder where the money has gone? Try offshore accounts and solid gold toilets. Frankly, I know a lot of natural born citizens that just sit around and complain and spew racist hatred and, yes, use govt benefits. I’d rather ship them away somewhere and keep the people who would walk hundreds of miles for a job.

superd
Guest
superd
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

oh please, no where else can a person enter the country illegally/without permission or authorization, and be granted rights such as drivers license, healthcare, welfare, education et al. Nothing against someone trying to make a better life but that’s not what has happened with ILLEGAL immigration. Instead of bringing everyone up, we as a country have gone down to the least common denominator and this country is becoming a third world shit hole. And that has nothing to do with race, it’s a reality in our modern world. And the poverty pimp politricksters love using this as a divisive tool

superd
Guest
superd
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

do you have a lock on your home? cellphone? email account? mailbox? car? it’s called security and controlling who has access to individuals property and information is something we should be concerned about monitoring…

Esme
Guest
Esme
5 years ago
Reply to  superd

We are being robbed alright. But not by immigrants. It’s a classic misdirection. Get racial hatred riled up while those in power make out like bandits and blamed the resulting problems on this or that minority. It plays out over and over again.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

Of course there are immigant robbers, murderers, rapists, child abusers, drug addicts, etc. There are lots of immigrants without any respect for the law at all. Immigration does not confer sainthood on anyone. In fact some come determined to make money any which way they can without being worried at all about the harm they do to the native population along the way.

Esme
Guest
Esme
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

I’m not saying anyone is a saint. I’m saying that anyone trying to get you to pin all your problems on some minority or other is distracting you while they foreclose on your house or cut your wages or move your job where they have no worker protections or all of the above.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

Pin it on minorities? That is certainly a bull crap load of misdirection right there.

Unlike your self convenient interpretation, I saw it happening in industry after industry where the workers had gained in wages and benefits over the years. Greedy owners a way of maximising their own profits by literally bringing in foreign workers who also had the benefit of being unable to complain if they got screwed over.

The last one I saw doing it was Sun Valley Farms but Maxam did it wholesale before they left the region in tatters, PG&E hired a tree trimming company that did it for a few years. I’ve been out of touch for a decade now with the labor market but I’m sure it still goes on.

The first person that I ever spoke with about the loss if their job due to the lack of the government conveniently not enforcing the law was a man who had made a solid middle income living as a line butcher in a chicken processing plant in the Midwest. Hard work but a good living. The company fired all of their native workers, literally bussed in illegal immigrants to replace them. It made the national news when the owner complained about illegal immigrants, had his business raided and virtually every line employee turned out to be illegal. But while the national press giggled with glee over catching out a Republican bigot with his hand in the till, not one of them interviewed people like this former butcher turned truck driver who lost his house and spent the rest of his life working twenty years on for wages that were half of what he had been earning.

His was the first story like that I heard, back in the 1980s, about people done in by their own government refusing to enforce the immigration laws. It was told as a side story about how he became a trucker. It was just a fact of life to him. However it left a mark on me.

Moviedad
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

You’ll never convince the fascists with facts.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

Moviesdad, looking at your comment I find your remark devastingly clever. Imagine calling people who disagree with you “fascists!” Never seen that before. Sure makes everything clear. Add volumes to the debate. Raises the tone up to school yard bully level.

Just Sayin
Guest
Just Sayin
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

They are not our own. They are illegal. Do you say the same thing about rapists when they break our laws ? GTFOH

just me
Guest
just me
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

Esme stop drinking the bong water. you must be joking.

Lt Joe
Guest
Lt Joe
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

Build our homes? What a joke.
I have seen the worst construction from illegals…. do you think having a skilled trade with pride of workmanship comes as a natural skill to those used to living in squalor?
They pay house framers less today than the $23 an hour I made swinging a hammer in 1993.
We used to have smooth-wall interiors, now we have shit-sprayed adobe style texture because that’s all the morons can do.
Painters? illegals are the worst- messy as all-get-out and never paint the butt ends or back prime.
Most illegals throw their lunch and booze bottles in the back yard and it gets buried under the topsoil for the homeowner to discover in the coming years.

Judy Bresnan
Guest
Judy Bresnan
5 years ago
Reply to  Lorrie

This is wrong! What kind of a country have we becomes? Haven’t we better thing to do then rounding up citizens checking to see if they get a bus ticket back to their birth country. This is absolutely outrageous.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Judy Bresnan

Nonsense. It’s what happens when a country makes laws it does not enforce. When politicians are two faced about protecting its citzens’ work from employers who want to screw them over by continuously bringing in cheaper labor , yet still serve the employer’s self interest by not enforcing the law. Such duplicity leads to both the stagnant wages and ugly stories like this. In both cases, only the emotional drama is covered. Facts are not considered important.

just me
Guest
just me
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

Guest i was a sheet rocker. one day a came to work and was let go. seems that 6 six illegals can do the work of two for half the money. the end of the union job in construction. 1976 is when i saw and felt the change. your right on the money. i wonder how many of these libtards have a illegal staying with them. or are helping our vets and seniors. brown wants to pass a law giving free medical to all illegals for life in California. its about votes. wake up.

Mariahgirl
Guest
Mariahgirl
5 years ago
Reply to  just me

Free legal services too! They have their kids here and then their kids are eligible for cash aid.

Moviedad
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  just me

Foreign workers didn’t take your union.

Pilgrim Son
Guest
Pilgrim Son
5 years ago
Reply to  Lorrie

May I politely request that every single one of you remain in San Francisco, the sanctuary paradise created by that socialist genius Gavin “let’s welcome all the foreign criminals” Newsome. Better yet, pick up this illegal and drive her right on back where she belongs. I suggest a long holiday for all of you.

Remember Kate Steinle!

Pilgrim Son
Guest
Pilgrim Son
5 years ago
Reply to  Lorrie

I politely request the entire convoy keep on going straight to the border and beyond. Take a nice long holiday. I’m sure your cause-of-the-moment will join you shortly. Meanwhile, we might finally get a wall that keeps all the criminals out. Yes, that means soft-bellied traitors to the U.S. Enjoy your stay!

Remember Kate Steinle ….

Eurekalocal
Guest
Eurekalocal
5 years ago

Send her back to Mexico. She should have come to the USA legally.

The hills have eyez
Guest
The hills have eyez
5 years ago
Reply to  Eurekalocal

Umm, she is Salvadoran, as stated above. Right. In. The. Article. And almost all American ancestors were immigrants, so…

superd
Guest
superd
5 years ago

yeah, LEGAL immigrants!!! you forgot that part!! and it cost money, blood, sweat, and tears and alot of time. how is it fair to reward someone who cheated the system?? i understand the motivation but it seems to me when i do something “illegal”, i know there is always a possibility of getting caught and punished.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  superd

At what point do we stop being in love with our own self aggrandizing myths? Wave of immigrants did come because they were cheap labor. From before the start of our country, rich people subsidized the import of labor to the detriment of the local populations who were shoved out of the way. Good for the employers, good for many of the immigrants, terrible for the locals.

But the world is no longer where an immigrant succeeded, died or went back without public being responsible. These same immigrants fought for labor laws, schooling, benefits for themselves. Now the public has come to think of them as a right that comes naturally. Well, it doesn’t. If there is so little value in an individual’s honest labor that they can’t contribute to paying for these things, yet still demand them, we turn into a place of haves and have more, the haves being those still doing well and the rest being turned into unnecessary nuisances. We are not longer such a large, isolated world that we are not in competition with every single other human on the face of the earth. And most everyone else is leaner than we are, much more aware of the reality.

Just Sayin
Guest
Just Sayin
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

Sorry but it ain’t 1776 and we have had laws for years. You seem to think your bleeding g heart means more than laws ? GTFOH.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Just Sayin

Read again. I said exactly the opposite what you seem to have read. Or did you mean your comment for another post? Or is the sarcasm?

JustWantToHeartheEndoftheStory
Guest
JustWantToHeartheEndoftheStory
5 years ago

Demand? Judge’s don’t take kindly to demands. Perhaps entering the US legally would have avoided this problem. In fact, legal entry definitely avoids this problem, lovely person or not.

Over it
Guest
Over it
5 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Remaining here is HER choice and her responsibility. At 33 yrs old she’s responsible for her own actions. Being in the USA past the age of 18 absolutely qualifies her to be held responsible.

JustWantToHeartheEndoftheStory
Guest
JustWantToHeartheEndoftheStory
5 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Then she should discuss the situation with her parents, not DEMAND that the law not be enforced.

In my 1911 I trust
Guest
In my 1911 I trust
5 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

A lot of people grow pot without diverting creeks or leaving trash. A lot of people grow pot using solar power. A lot of people grow pot who live much more sustainably than anyone else. They are all demonized the same. The law is the law. We all need to be prosecuted the same. There are illegal aliens who were brought here as children, sucks but they broke the law. Thats how it is, unless we are going to start extending circumstantial leniency to EVERYONE and allow EVERYBODY’S cases to be prosecuted according to their own special circumstances. Once that is the case, we can talk. Right now it isn’t, so while American Citizens are being prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law without circumstantial leniency, Illegal Aliens need to be prosecuted even more so. Its a bummer when an older generations mistakes trickle down to the youth, but that is how its always been. How about we change that status quo with American Citizens first before we address Illegal Aliens who technically do not have any rights under our Constitution.

CB
Guest
CB
5 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Yea but. Shes not 7 anymore and she knew she was here illegally long ago. She had PLENTY of time
(15 years since she was 18) to get the process done to be here legally. But why bother everything is free here in the land of Milk and Honey!

Hubertus
Guest
Hubertus
5 years ago
Reply to  CB

You cannot become a citizen unless you have thousands of dollars in disposable income. Just the filing fee pushes a grand, nevermind lawyers. And you need an actual legal path, which isn’t clear in cases like this.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Hubertus

It depends on your priorities. https://www.us-immigration.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-apply-for-us-citizenship/
“USCIS also grants fee waivers for those who cannot afford the naturalization application fees.”

Diamond
Guest
Diamond
5 years ago
Reply to  CB

The process takes a long, long time and is very expensive. It’s a sad, sad way the U.S. treats other human beings. Ripping families apart is never a good answer.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

We don’t want laws that make sense. In fact we hate them. They create difficulties.
What we demand are crisis laws that massage the ego of a few and allow the masses to trip along ignoring the mess. We want feel good laws which can be misused at will. What seems good to one usually manages to screw over someone else. And emotional partisanship decides which is which.

This story is the result of not enforcing laws. The mess the laws are in are because so many people demand perfection in getting what they want or they sue, sue, sue.

Just Sayin
Guest
Just Sayin
5 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Sorry Kim but it does. When they hurt this country on an indirect or direct way becuAse of their actions , we all suffer. . The cost to legal citizens is more than you realize or want to think about. I also think certain farmers are good people just like illegals but in reality unless you fight to change the law , ( like farmers have been doing / did ) you are part of the problem.

just me
Guest
just me
5 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

they need to hold her parents responsible. they did this not us

superd
Guest
superd
5 years ago
Reply to  just me

yes, I”m so tired of being scapegoated as a legal citizen for the actions of illegal immigrant adults and the impact they have had on their children. it’s no one else’s responsibility. and yes kym, sometimes life is harsh. but we are not the savior of the world. this current debacle is a disgrace to legal citizens

Pilgrim Son
Guest
Pilgrim Son
5 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Too true. Send her parents and her kids back, too.

Moviedad
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Look what those fascists are doing to 7 yr olds today. We are the land of. “…a bit harsh.”

Eldon G. Whitehead
Guest
Eldon G. Whitehead
5 years ago

Way to go Kym, these other ‘citizens’ must not have learned how to read or they only read what they think they want to read. No wonder our Society is like it is becoming.

JustWantToHeartheEndoftheStory
Guest
JustWantToHeartheEndoftheStory
5 years ago

Harsh? Really? How did the “lovely person” get her social security number? By lying on the application, a crime. Is she registered to vote? If so, another lie, another crime. Why not let everyone who is a “lovely person” plead that at trial, that way they can all get back to their kids, and live happily ever after. Again, illegal is just that, lovely person or not

Mirrors Please? I think some broke theirs!
Guest
Mirrors Please? I think some broke theirs!
5 years ago

They sure love the fish food!

Someone
Guest
Someone
5 years ago

Alot of people dont realize that alot of undocumented immigrants are brought here as very small children by their parents at too young of an age to even realize that they are “illegal”. In those cases you have to take circumstance into consideration. Our immigration definitely needs reform. But expecting someone brought here as a baby or small child to find out they are illegal one day and say ” omg i was brought illegally at age 5? Im leaving right now. Call ice! I just found out im illegal, thanks ma!” Yeah right lol

Livin' Easy
Guest
Livin' Easy
5 years ago
Reply to  Someone

I don’t agree with some things going on right now, but she was brought here at age 7 and now a mother of 4. Seems like she has had more than enough time to process citizenship. This possibility has been coming for many years, and she did nothing to stop it. The process does need reform, but she dropped the ball.

Esme
Guest
Esme
5 years ago
Reply to  Livin' Easy

There is no process for her to get citizenship. That’s what the Dream Act put a band-aid on, but it still provides no path to citizenship. If you enter illegally, even as a tiny child, you cannot apply for citizenship unless you leave the US and live abroad for at least ten years. Then you can apply, a process that can take many years with no promise of success. These folks have no good option: leave the only country they know and everything behind, or live in legal limbo.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

Balderdash. People do it constantly. What you call “a good option” is rules that allow a person not to have to face any hurdles and requires little of them. Apparently there is no rule on the face of the earth that you will find acceptable if it does not result in what you want easily.

People talk about her being a working mother of 4 . Want to discuss the details of how she is working and supporting these children?

ocrimony
Guest
ocrimony
5 years ago

The question is what are her legal alternatives? Clearly she is illegal. Clearly it would be a gross injustice to deport her. But our government has chosen a path without compassion for people like Claudia. Without a legal alternative, the judge’s hands will be tied. I weep for Claudia and all, like her, who were brought here as children having neither intent nor knowledge of any violation of the law.

superd
Guest
superd
5 years ago
Reply to  ocrimony

compassion?? omg, try pulling this stunt in Mexico, and see how much compassion you receive, ridiculous

Esme
Guest
Esme
5 years ago
Reply to  superd

Yeah. Try pulling this in North Korea! The United States should always seek out the nastiest country’s policies and try to copy them! Actually, that does seem like what we are doing these days.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

With your hatred of this country and the people who are here, why do you want anyone to come here? It’s a stange dichotomy where you advocate the right of anyone to make use of the US when it has been created by such awful people.

Pilgrim Son
Guest
Pilgrim Son
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

You can leave any time.

Moviedad
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

This is what happens when merit counts for nothing, and our highest positions in government are all for sale.

Capitalist pig
Guest
Capitalist pig
5 years ago

Sad situation, my heart breaks for this family , but isnt it true that she could have taken the steps to become legal ? Does anybody know ? I hope she can bond out, I would contribute just so she can reunite with her babies

Spikie
Guest
Spikie
5 years ago
Reply to  Capitalist pig

Yep! I hope she has been studying up on the citizenship test (what ever that is) while in custody for 7 months! She is the perfect storm for deportation as an example to scare the crap out of others not in compliance.

Esme
Guest
Esme
5 years ago
Reply to  Capitalist pig

Sadly, our immigration system does not have a pathway for these people brought here as kids to become legal. That’s what many have been advocating for for many years and never achieved. These childhood arrivals can either voluntarily leave the only country they know and start over in a foreign country or live in limbo and hope for the best. Those are their only choices. They are not being ‘lazy’ for not doing something that is not possible. If you Google you can find out more. That’s why the DACA was passed and even then it only provided for ‘deferred action’ and does not provide a way for childhood arrivals to become citizens. Now the current resume is trying to take that away.

meow
Guest
meow
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

a daca solution was on the table, and it was offered hand in hand with a way to end this problem by funding border security, ending chain migration, and the lottery system. the democrats turned it down. they threw daca under the bus. if you care about daca vote the democrats out of office.

superd
Guest
superd
5 years ago
Reply to  meow

i don’t think the politricksters want to end this problem

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  meow

Have you ever really read a “Republican” bill?

rotf
Guest
rotf
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

I HIGHLY doubt it!

Esme
Guest
Esme
5 years ago
Reply to  meow

That’s not the way I heard it, but I don’t get my news from Trump’s Twitter feed.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

Whose feed do you read?

THC
Guest
THC
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme
meow
Guest
meow
5 years ago
Reply to  THC

thank you for emphasizing that so thoroughly

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

That is because it creates an irresolvable crisis time and time again. There have been 7 amnesties in the last 50 years. Each of the acknowledging that the problem of illegal immigration needs to be solved and offering a clean slate to those already here so that the changed laws will now be enforced. Yet the’clean slates’ were done but no matter how detailed the changed laws, they were again simply ignored. Her parents could have utilized some of them on her behalf but felt they safer to continue being illegal.

Yet the result was always not to enforce the laws again (something I believe you support) and thereby create another mass of people to whom it would be “unfair” to deport. There is always a crescendo of protests at any attempt to enforce any part of the laws. It is always unfair. All the negatives of the unlimited immigration fiasco dismissed. A lack of respect for any law has been the result.

smokey Joe
Guest
smokey Joe
5 years ago
Reply to  Capitalist pig

Actually she does not have to become a citizen. She could become naturalized with a sponsorship from a child over 18 that was born here or a spouse who is a legal US Citizen. That path is legal and workable even with the current administration.

meow
Guest
meow
5 years ago

indeed a sad situation, but
a judge might ask…
has she applied for citizenship since becoming a legal adult 15 years ago?
is the family going to be at the hearing, or
have her sisters, and brother also not applied?
or her mother? has she applied for legal status since arriving here 25 years ago?
what has the church done so far this past 7 months to help her gain legal citizenship?
just askin

Spikie
Guest
Spikie
5 years ago
Reply to  meow

Yes, I agree. This is ugly, but she had had 15 years of adulthood to become a citizen of the USA. Thousands of others are choosing to become citizens through proper process.

JustWantToHeartheEndoftheStory
Guest
JustWantToHeartheEndoftheStory
5 years ago
Reply to  meow

Thank you for pointing out the gaps in the sob story. Well thought out.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago

She had no opportunity as an adult to become legal. I suppose if she had married a citizen, some exception would apply.

The fact is, that due to greed and disrespect for the law, the US has allowed basically unchecked illegal immigration. Condoned it by turning a blind eye because people who had theear of politicians wanted it so. Bunch of greedy whiners. If the law makers and politicians has not been so spineless, the illegal immigrants would have not been allowed to float around so long that they became used to living as they do. More certainly would have utilized the various amnesties. Has that defect in American law created a right to stay? I think for many it has. More shame to us. It’s created a country that the rest of the world feels owes them even when they hate it. I suppose we’re lucky that there is any respect for ourselves left.

Unless the US develops some backbone and deals with reality, this is never going to end.

guest
Guest
5 years ago

🖕🏼🖕🏼🖕🏼

Esme
Guest
Esme
5 years ago
Reply to  meow

You can’t apply for citizenship if you enter improperly. It was not her choice to do so, but under current law she cannot apply for citizenship unless she leaves the US for at least a decade as a penalty of sorts. Then she can apply.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

So you favor the”enter illegally and let them try to deport me, I’ll just come back in” scenario? Or just make no rules at all because that is the only way to be fair?

Druthers
Guest
Druthers
5 years ago

Anybody slamming fellow human beings for pursuing happiness and security in life needs to ask themselves how bad their own prospects would have to be in this country for them to illegally leave. People are people, there but for the grace of your God goes you, too.

Also, legal immigration for poor people from poor countries is simply not possible. You’re likely to wait literally a decade before your application is even officially turned down. “Just do it legally” is not an option.

…and no, I’m not some kinda bleeding heart liberal who thinks this country’s government should open the floodgates. But I’m real about our human condition and how the governments work.

Spikie
Guest
Spikie
5 years ago
Reply to  Druthers

She is not a poor immigrant trying to enter the country legally. 15 years is plenty of time to get your ducks in a row for the sake of her family. She played the game and lost. She had years of opportunity to avoid this. The feds are ruthless in all regards and Im sure she has figured that out. I hope she is allowed to come home to her children with a probation that she must fulfill the citizenship process in a year or something along those lines.

meow
Guest
meow
5 years ago
Reply to  Druthers

its better to have applied for citizenship and been turned down than never to have applied at all. especially after 15 years of living here. that may be something for her 4 kids to consider when they become adults.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  meow

They were born here and are natural citizens.

Esme
Guest
Esme
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

I just love it when people refer to other people as non-humans. Actually, no, I don’t. It’s generally a prelude to treating those groups of people like animals.

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

So they’re breeding “bunny style”?

Pilgrim Son
Guest
Pilgrim Son
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

We need to reverse that. No more anchor babies!

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Druthers

The other side of that coin is de facto permission for anyone to come here at any time for any reason. There is always a reason for people to come and verifying anything is extremely hard if not impossible. If they come in large enough numbers, the native populations are squeezed out. Especially the poorer ones who face stiff competition for wages.

I watched several industries collapse for native workers who found themselves with constantly eroding earnings to such an extent that they went from middle class to poor and even then some employers prefer immigrants that would not make troublesome demands regarding legal worker protections. It was heartbreaking talking to a middle age worker trying to cope with paying his bills with a salary half of what it was just a few years previously.This has helped to create the stagnation of wages that so many employers have found an appealing evasion of the burdensome labor laws.

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

Guest is correct. The huge pool of illegals willing to work for next to nothing hurts U.S. citizens at the low end of the pay scale. I’m sick of hearing about “jobs Americans don’t want”. There is no such thing. People simply want to be paid a fair wage. If not for undercutting by illegals, a difficult job like picking strawberries would need to pay well, as it should.

Connie Dobbs
Guest
Connie Dobbs
5 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

And then they have the gall to disparage those same low-wage earners with the label “white trash.”

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Druthers

Especially the ones that are so self righteous in criticizing the US for being hard hearted while they were protective from the start. Disingenuous.

In my 1911 I trust
Guest
In my 1911 I trust
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

My parents actually lived in So Salvador for 5 years, so I know the other side of the coin. They had to pay $1600 dollars a year for their residency. Every couple years they would have to travel all the way Mexico and stay for three days before they could return, due to the face that Honduras, Guatemala, El Sal, and Belize all share the same visa. They had to prove that they had income and could contribute to the economy of El Salvador. They also were NOT ALLOWED to participate in ANY politics, ralliea, voting, et al, or else they would be deported. If they didn’t pay $1600 a year they would be deportes, if they no longer could provide proof of financial independence, they would be deported. The best way to deal with immigration is hold them to the immigration standards of the country they left.

superd
Guest
superd
5 years ago

i like that idea

Mike
Guest
Mike
5 years ago

Why is the ice detention facility privately owned?

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago
Reply to  Mike

Prison industrial complex.

Imagine owning a hotel that was double booked at full rate every day, and where the guests couldn’t leave and had to eat at your restaurant. It’s a great business model from the owner’s perspective.

Privately owned prisons should be illegal.

Esme
Guest
Esme
5 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

This. They have plush contracts with the government where they are guaranteed a certain number of detainees. Guaranteed. That sounds really legal. Enforcement based on profit quotas. What could go wrong… This was true during the Obama administration as well. There’s a good article out there on why the Obama administration detained and deported record numbers.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Esme

It is ugly. It is also the result of things you advocate.

Kay
Guest
Kay
5 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

Strongly agree!

Pilgrim Son
Guest
Pilgrim Son
5 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

Simple: no crime no prisons. Who commits the crime? Look around you. People who believe they are above or beyond the law. Criminal growers. Druggies and drug dealers. Obama. Illegals.
Leftists. That sort.

Mogtx
Guest
5 years ago

Got to have your papers birth certificate stuff like that be a american.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Mogtx

There are plenty of alternatives to lost or unobtainable documents.

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago

If I were here illegally I wouldn’t feel bad about it but I would accept the consequences if caught.

It seems a lot like speeding to me. If I know I’m speeding, I should expect a ticket if caught. If I know I’m an illegal immigrant, I should expect deportation if caught.

This whole situation is sad. Glad I’m not the judge. He is sworn to uphold the law.

superd
Guest
superd
5 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

yeah,it’s called taking a risk/gamble/chance…and it’s not guaranteed to turn out as hoped/wished/prayed for

Spikie
Guest
Spikie
5 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

15 years as an adult negates that argument.

Neverwrong
Guest
Neverwrong
5 years ago

I wish them good luck. ICE and the courts will ignore any “demands”. The only way they will release her is if bond is posted. Money talks.

Concrete Finisher
Guest
5 years ago

She is 33. Should have started, and/or finished the proper paperwork to make her residency legal. I have personal dealings with her and her husband, which i noticed wasn’t mentioned in this article. I have nothing good to say about them. Thieves, cheats and liars. They bid contract work and take the client’s money without finishing the job. Then also don’t pay the people they hire to help them on the job. Is that the type of people we need to support in our community?

Spikie
Guest
Spikie
5 years ago

I like hearing the other side of the story.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago

I just love all you righteous white folks out there. Everyone is from somewhere else. It’s how the world works. Nobody owns anything in this world. Even our lives and property are short-term leases. I don’t know any of that hasn’t been doing illegal shit for the past 30 years or more. If you had elected Trump and his minions I might be angry at you, but he wasn’t legally elected. You bought all the Russian troll stuff and elected a small time criminal and con man to the highest office in the land. Of course it didn’t hurt that Trump sold the office to the Russians and the corporations. And you so called Republicans out there, who are now known as traitors and treasonous people have no love of democracy. You would rather that the rich be rich and are so afraid someone might get something that you didn’t for nothing.

superd
Guest
superd
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

very existential

Anti troll league
Guest
Anti troll league
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

Usually there is no relief in irrational spewing. It tends to push the spewer farther and farther into emotional irrationality.

Frankly, I would have very much liked to have had a better option than either Clinton or Trump or any of the wannabes that ran. I know Clinton had a long history of venality and contempt for others. Trump was someone that I really wouldn’t want to even have lunch with. But the difference was just the opposite of what you said- even if Trump was lying, in order to lie he had to at least recognize that many voters love their country. Clinton, it was clear, despised so many of us and couldn’t conceive of not buying the election with her pandering to those she mistaken thought owned the country.

So basically people like you ensured that Trump was elected (for that try reading the Constitution) and, if you don’t shut up, will ensure his reelection. Meanwhile Clinton will make money writing books and having seminars with people like yourself.

superd
Guest
superd
5 years ago

it would be nice to hear a cohesive meaningful platform from an opponent of current president but it seems more about bashing him personally is the agenda. stop with the identity politics and put the needs of u.s. citizens first and foremost. we are not the “united states of the world”

Local
Guest
Local
5 years ago

About the only industry locally that will employ someone with zero identification is the illicit cannabis industry. All other employers require some sort of ID and a SSC number. Doesn’t mean the ID’s or the SSC are legit, but it does mean the employees using them are paying taxes.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Local

Not exactly. A whole group of employers who knowingly hire illegals, and there are a number, pocket the taxes. Just because they are held out doesn’t mean they are paid into the government. In fact it’s usually doing that that gets them in trouble.

And then there’s the government having to spend time and money straightening this out.

But frankly, knowingly hiring illegals and paying them under the table is not that uncommon. Then all taxes can be ignored. There are a few businesses that do this repeatedly, then, when caught, shut down one business name and reopen another. All that is needed is hiring cheaply enough, maybe having enough other deductions, maybe getting paid under the counter yourself, so that the wages paid out are less valuable as a tax deduction than the cost of paying worker’s comp, the employers share of FICA or the many other regulated expenses of having an employee.

Mariahgirl
Guest
Mariahgirl
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

There are alot that use the same ssn and that money is not pocketed by the employer, it goes to social security and because the number does not actually belong to a real person they keep it in one of their pots.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Mariahgirl

Sort of. There is a requirement that social security maintains the integrity of people’s records. That means that every mismatched tax withholding must be investigated. Takes lots of work to do that. Much more in government costs than the taxes ever covered. So an employer or employee with many such mismatches is a very expensive proposition. Not that the effort always resolves the issue.

Chameleon
Guest
Chameleon
5 years ago

I really don’t have an answer regarding the millions of people who have entered this country illegally. The United States has allowed this to happen for many years and turned a blind eye. Now they are going to rip families apart? I do not think that is the answer either. First and foremost I believe we need to change the law that states if you are born here, and your mother is not a US citizen, that you automatically become a citizen. Ridiculous. There are a multitude of Russian and Asian women coming to the US giving birth to children. These children become automatic citizens. This needs to change. But families that are productive members of society, well it just doesn’t make sense to lock people up and leave their children behind. It seems a form of abuse and neglect perpetrated by the government. Good luck

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

She didn’t need to be a citizen. Only to legalize her status. http://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/legal-options-undocumented-illegal-immigrant-stay.html

It’s too bad that so very many people chose to enter illegally that hearings are scheduled way out there. That is ugly but a result of massively not enforcing the law.

Old Humboldt
Guest
Old Humboldt
5 years ago

Wow. There are a lot of comments from all across the board. Here’s my two cents.

I’m glad the community cares about helping. I understand that. We believe in human decency and 7 months is a long while. If you’re of a Christian-like persuasion, that’s simply the right thing to do. I mean, wasn’t Mary and Joseph turned away and their child born in a manger? I hate to be so cheesy here, but really… WWJD? Christian conservatives (ie, evangelicals) need to hold their values close to heart, right?

That said, this whole immigration thing needs to be fixed, pronto. Back in the day, I remember the Bracero program of the 40’s and 50’s. It worked very well. Immigrants were vetted, came to work, and went home with paychecks and to return the next year. We knew who they were and we needed their help. It benefited the employers, business, and the individual. After you proved yourself, there was then a pathway to legal citizenship you could take. So what happened? I dunno. It fell apart.

Whether you’re a liberal or conservative in these polarized times shouldn’t matter. Get your congress-person to fix it. It’s a mess, like the above story relates.

Meanwhile, Ms. Portillo gets her hearing. Thank you all for standing up– and for her day in court. Unfortunately there will be many more to follow.

You been skipping Sunday huh?
Guest
You been skipping Sunday huh?
5 years ago

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT WELCOMING THE STRANGER
Fourteen Bible quotations taken from both the Old and New Testament.

Deuteronomy 10: 19 You shall love the stranger, for you were once strangers in the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 19:34 The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.

Matt. 5:43-44 You have heard that it was said, ‘you shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy’. But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you.

Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbour, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Romans 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Acts 10:34 Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

Revelation 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them.”

3 John 1:5 Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the friends, even though they are strangers to you; they have testified to your love before the church. You do well to send them on in a manner worthy of God; for they began their journey for the sake of Christ, accepting no support from non-believers. Therefore we ought to support such people, so that they may become co-workers with the truth.

Hebrews 13: 1 Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Collossians 3:11 In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.

Matthew 25: 35 I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.

Matt. 25:40 Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren you did it to me.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago

What does the Bible say about forcing others to welcome the stranger? Nothing? Surprise, surprise. Holding yourself responsible for your values is one thing. Insisting on imposing your values on someone else is another. Nowhere does it say ” You were hungry. Let me take my neighbor’s bread and feed you.”

Moviedad
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

Good grief.

Thinking allowed
Guest
Thinking allowed
5 years ago

Roman 13:1-7 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

superd
Guest
superd
5 years ago

it also says honor your mother and father and to be a lawful person, stop cherry picking…

Canyon oak
Guest
Canyon oak
5 years ago

Spanish is a language left by spanish colonists who built the mission system of California in native times before Mexico or el Salvador existed. The mission system in California was a Spanish project, not a Mexican one. Mexico was a invention post revolutionary war with Spain, and Mexico only held our current territory for a brief time. There is no true Mexican claim to California( treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo), unless Mexicans want to share ownership in the genocide story with Europeans, because natives in California we not, and are not Mexican, or Salvadoran for that matter..
America also was invented as a nation post English rule. Granting Citizenship must be reciprocal, not emotional. For every foreign born person we grant legal status to, a space in the roles of their abandoned country should be made available to one of our people.

Emily
Guest
Emily
5 years ago

I don’t think anyone should be illegal just for being in the country they want to be in. We all go where we need to for love, jobs, whatever.
These are good people, they didn’t break any law except for going where they need to go. That shouldn’t be a crime. We are all immigrants.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Emily

Some are good people. Some are bad. And some merrily break law after law. The prisons in California are full of the later. It’s what happens when you don’t respect the law. Why bother with any of them?

I know, let’s all move to Brazil, force them to accept our culture, displace their workers, make demands and… whoops. That colonizalism. Bad.

Mike
Guest
Mike
5 years ago

thats not really working so great for Europe, except Norway

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Mike

There was a period where Baltic oil and natural gas created a lot of income for Scandinavian countries. Their citizens felt flush and created large social welfare systems. Only those who “banked” this resource income have avoided the reality that, if a human doesn’t need to work at unpleasant jobs, they tend not to do it and become a serious drain. And that other people not so fortunate might find that attractive too. And that plundering natural resources is not an endles option. As in the Danish Dirty Little Secret with their Oklahoma earthquakes.

taxpayer working class
Guest
taxpayer working class
5 years ago

build the wall, if your not legal send them back. the us is big free ride, run over the border, spit out kids that are us born. send her back and her kids!!

Someone
Guest
Someone
5 years ago

I hate how everyone jumps to “oh terrible mexicans here stealing everything, while our homeless veterans starve!” A large majority of illegals are paid to be brought here by white american farmers who want cheap laborers. They dont “come here” on their own always. And most illegal immigrants do actually pay taxes, if they have a job and a paycheck they are paying taxes. The homeless veterans on the other hand are mostly addicted to drugs, refuse to work. There are tons of programs out there to help struggling veterans. As with any individual you have to actually want the help and seek it out. So you say get rid of the mexicans as they are lazy leeches who dont pay taxes. Every mexican ive know works 2-3 jobs, pays taxes whether legal or not and ive never seen a mexican beg for my money on the street corner. Homeless americans and veterans sit around all day begging for strangers cash, litter our streets with garbage, dirty needles, attack and rob locals for a quick high, do not work, will not work for money even if offered and were born and raised in the LAND OF OPPORTUNITY (unlike many unfortunate mexicans) and they are still far more lazy and unwiiling to work than any mexican ive ever known. I want to keep the hard working mexicans here. Then send all of our worthless drug addicted, violent, unwilling to work homeless to mexico. Sounds like a better trade to me.

Mariahgirl
Guest
Mariahgirl
5 years ago
Reply to  Someone

Those homeless veterans served our country to protect our rights. Yes some of them are homeless and hooked on drugs but after married io a veteran for 50 years I can tell you that I would not have wanted to see or do what he had to do. No he did not have a choice he was drafted. Are all the people holding signs stating they are vets really vets or just claiming to be? No matter what people claim I personally do not give any of them money or food and I don’t want my tax money used to support the illegals no matter where they are from.

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago
Reply to  Someone

So you hate the stereotyping of Mexicans but like to engage in stereotyping veterans?

superd
Guest
superd
5 years ago
Reply to  Someone

everyone doesn’t think that.

THC
Guest
THC
5 years ago
Reply to  Someone

“ive never seen a mexican beg for my money on the street corner”

I have to agree with you there, every person I know with Mexican heritage is hard-working. But then again this lady did not come from Mexico, in fact the majority of illegal immigrants don’t come from Mexico. And out of all the people that we should be helping in this country, the people that put their life on the line to protect our country our freedoms and our rights should be top of the priority list, regardless of how misguided the people that deploy them might be. The simple fact is we can either crack down on immigration or drastically reduce the welfare programs in this country, we are already 20 + trillion dollars in debt. We cannot afford to house, feed and provide medical care to everybody on this planet.

Mike
Guest
Mike
5 years ago

Ha, if you sent the drug addicts to Mexico, Mexico would throw them in jail for illegal immigration after all they actually take it kinda serious down there. I think irony is the word.

Tamera Clary
Guest
5 years ago

Send her back and her kids with her. We have laws for a reason.

Wobbly Wheels
Guest
Wobbly Wheels
5 years ago
Reply to  Tamera Clary

It’s not for you to say. She has a court hearing. The Judge will say. Not you, Tamara. Sorry.
Good thing we have a judicial system of justice, yes?

Is that an Elephant?
Guest
Is that an Elephant?
5 years ago

Just enforce the existing laws regarding employing an illegal alien, and fine/jail the business owner.

While you’re at it, eliminate loopholes like a certain bulb farm uses by subbing out their labor needs to a company that provides illegals with fake documentation.

Hit the real problem in the pocketbook.

Done. No more problem.

Very few will enter the US illegally if they can’t make their life better or earn money to send home.

My work is done here. Comments are now closed.

/thread

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago

That is a true non starter. Republicans object to employers having to pony up and Democrats object to anything that might be effective.

Sam
Guest
Sam
5 years ago

Pot is global it’s a game that’s why Humboldt voted two to one Crooked Hillary they were busy playing their game you chose your side now live with it…. Sell your soul to the devil yeah many already did in a large way my opinion if you’re a. Humanist You are saying you’re evil … no apologies I believe it ….. by the way I was raised to believe that the Soviet union was my enemy but today I’m not so sure it was not the globalists i should’ve been much more worried about

TheLaw
Guest
TheLaw
5 years ago

When you base your entire existence on a lie in the country you migrate to well then expect reprocussions for your felonious acts, them anchor babies didnt help this one and the entire pack needs deported!

Bulgiarian beef stew
Guest
Bulgiarian beef stew
5 years ago

Don’t go if your illegal. There will hopefully be a gang of ice agents checking all occupants of this convoy and illegals will be detained and deported!