Three weeks.

That's how long it took one pregnant Mexican woman to be deported and make it back to her illegal US residence in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

A pregnant woman who was separated from her husband and two small children and deported to Mexico on July 26 has already returned to Arkadelphia, Hispanic activists say.

The woman's story is just one of several desperate efforts to reunite families by those deported in an immigration raid at an Arkadelphia poultry plant. Cesar Compadre, a physician at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and head of the Hispanic aid organization La Casa, said he met the woman Sunday while providing food and medical care to many of the 30 children left unattended in Arkansas.

"It's the most ridiculous thing; it's like the Middle Ages," an exasperated Compadre said after he and three other doctors treated 25 kids and half a dozen adults.

But Marc Raimondi, spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said it should not come as a surprise when the U.S. government enforces its immigration laws. Since incorporating immigration enforcement within the Department of Homeland Security 2 1/2 years ago, expectations have changed, he said.

"It's not like before when the immigration system was considered optional by some," he told The Associated Press on Sunday. "Our goal is to return integrity to our immigration system through vigorous enforcement."

Compadre said his medical team provided the woman with prenatal care. She said she was taken from Arkadelphia less than three weeks ago, detained in Texarkana and Dallas, dropped off in the middle of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico — just across the Rio Grande River from Laredo, Texas — and immediately made her way back to Arkansas.

"She was traumatized to the point that she's almost unresponsive," Compadre said. "She's back in here and we were able to get her proper prenatal care. It's at least stable at this moment."

Raimondi could not comment on the woman's specific case, but in general, he said, returning to the U.S. illegally after being deported is a serious offense. Depending on the terms of deportation, a repeat offender could face up to 20 years in federal prison, he said.

I guess she really wants another anchor baby -- and we will get the entire extended family up here before too long.

And, of course, those enforcing our nation's laws are the bad guys, according to the slanted news coverage here.

Posted by: Greg at 02:56 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 413 words, total size 3 kb.