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Deport all the illegals? Look at case of just one - Marie Michou Daniel, a Haitian mother

Palm Beach Post Editorial

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

The best estimate is that about 3 million children in the United States are U.S.-born citizens whose parents are illegal immigrants.

Birthright citizenship is a right defined in the 14th Amendment and derived from English common law, which linked people to the soil upon which they entered the world. In the 19th century, the U.S. used the principle to help populate frontier expansion. Today, with the population of illegals estimated at 12 million and growing, birthright citizenship complicates the government's already dysfunctional approach to determining who should be in the country.

The case of Marie Michou Daniel, a Haitian mother from West Palm Beach whose story appeared Sunday in The Post, has been replicated thousands of times across the nation. Ms. Daniel entered nine years ago with a fraudulent passport. Immigration agents arrested her at Miami International Airport but released her while the government prepared an asylum hearing. Ms. Daniel said she feared for her life if she returned to Haiti. She obtained a work permit and got a job as a certified nursing assistant. The government denied her asylum request in 1999 and then her appeal, but she decided to remain here.

In January, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement caught up with Ms. Daniel, arrested her again and deported her to Haiti. But during her nine years here, she had given birth to three children - each of them U.S. citizens, with full legal status, whom the government cannot deport. The children are living with their grandmother, who tells them that their mother is in the hospital. Ms. Daniel cannot request legal entry for 10 years, and her prospects are dubious. Birthright children of illegal immigrants often are called "anchor babies" because their status can help bring foreign relatives here. That power, however, is limited. Children have to be 21 before they can assist family members.

Separated families are a recurring outcome of this year's politically motivated crackdown against illegal immigrants. After failing to gain support from Republican lawmakers for comprehensive reform, the Bush administration has pushed enforcement to appear tough on illegals and create at least the illusion of a coherent plan. But the unintended consequences of separating families are costly in many ways. Who will feed Ms. Daniel's three kids? Who will provide their health care, get them through school and keep them out of trouble? With the mother gone, the U.S. taxpayer will take on much of the burden.

Enforcement hard-liners who seek the mass deportation of 12 million people should consider the difficulties in deporting one woman. They also should consider the absurd paradoxes in U.S. policy. If Ms. Daniel had come from Cuba, the government would have welcomed her. Instead, she came from a country that is more violent, dangerous and economically depressed, but she cannot get asylum.

Comprehensive immigration reform would protect the borders, satisfy the nation's labor needs and treat all people fairly. A little common sense wouldn't hurt, either.