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SALT LAKE CITY -- In the debate over immigration reform, you may have heard the term "anchor babies." It's used to reference a child born in the United States to parents with illegal status in an effort to gain them citizenship. But does it work?
For one such family, staying in the United States could literally mean life or death for their young son.
Francisco Javier Espinoza and his wife, Claudia, came to the United States to build a new life. Francisco worked as a framer.
"For work, it's a better life here for my family," Espinoza said.
But when the economy took a turn for the worse, he started going to dumps and collecting metal to recycle. About two months ago, he was arrested. Police officers told him that metal belonged to the city.
The charges were dropped, but the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency had already started the deportation process.
While Espinoza sat in jail, his family got more bad news: His 3-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia.
Doctors started immediately treating young Jonathan with radiation and chemotherapy. In less than two months, his hair has fallen out, his face has swollen and his immune system has weakened.
Even with Jonathan's condition, Espinoza may still be deported.
"This case demonstrates what it takes for a child to be able to stop a father's deportation," immigration attorney Aaron Tarin told KSL News Friday.
Tarin is representing the Espinoza family and said so-called "anchor babies" rarely get parents with an illegal status citizenship. In fact, the law only allows for a maximum of 4,000 exceptions each year, and they have to meet stiff qualifications.
"You have to have 10 years in the country, you have to be a person of good moral character, you've got to be a person with a clean criminal record, and you have to have a U.S. citizen spouse or child that has a severe medical issue so that you can show that your deportation is going to result in an extremely unusual hardship to the child," Tarin said.
He believes Espinoza meets every one of those requirements. But if Espinoza is deported, his wife and four children will likely have to follow, leaving little Jonathan without the medical attention he so desperately needs.
"Should we then send this child back to Mexico to die simply because his parents are here illegally?" Tarin asked.
Espinoza has an immigration hearing scheduled in October. In the meantime, Jonathan receives treatment at Primary Children's Medical Center every week, and his family is struggling to pay the mounting medical bills.
E-mail: jstagg@ksl.com
