Court upholds deportation order for couple trying to have a child

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | January 8, 2008 | Bob Egelko

[forkinsocket]

A federal appeals court upheld a deportation order Monday against a South San Francisco couple who had hoped to gain legal status by having a child, but were forbidden by their Roman Catholic faith to use artificial means of conception.

Peter Fernandez and Martha Katigbak, who emigrated from the Philippines more than 15 years ago, argued that being deported would violate their religious freedom.

The married couple said they were being denied equal treatment under a law that allows illegal residents to seek legalization if their deportation would cause exceptional hardship to a child or other close relative who is a U.S. citizen. The couple said they had been trying to have a child for many years, without success, and were prohibited by their religious beliefs from using in vitro fertilization.

But the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said Fernandez and Katigbak had failed to show that their legal situation was related to their religion.

The court noted that the couple could have adopted a child and said that their explanation for not adopting - that their immigration status made their lives uncertain - was "not traceable to their religious beliefs."

Even if they had a child, the court said, they would qualify for protection from deportation only in rare cases of exceptional hardship, such as the child's serious health problems or special needs in school. That undermines their argument that the immigration law, with its exception for the hardship of a child, is pressuring them to violate their beliefs, the court said.

[forkinsocket]

Trying to stop deportation via future anchor babies.

[Graybeard58]

The 9th, Circuit gets one right?

[Abathar]

Wow, even a broken clock is right once a day... (You have to use military time when the 9th is involved)

[NonValueAdded]

Wow, the blind pig does snuffle up a truffle once in a while. Amazed that the 9th Circus did not create the right to have an anchor baby.

[3AngelaD]

UNMITIGATED GALL ALERT!

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

...prevented use of an artificial means of conception...

Funny, I often viewed the 14th Amendment as an artificial means of citizenship. Here they’ve admitted that such was the scheme.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Illegals are getting free representation in our courts too?

[frogjerk]

"The only possible means for them to qualify for this relief (from deportation) was through a means expressly prohibited by the Catholic Church,"

Don't bring the Church into this dummy. How about filing for citizenship decades ago?

[3AngelaD]

Martin Robles, the couple's lawyer, said he would ask the full appeals court for a rehearing. And this scumbag, logic-challenged ambulance chaser should be disbarred.

[Master Shake]

What’s the next argument to try? “If I’d been born in the U.S. I’d be a citizen, so you can’t deport me”???

[frogjerk]

Just to be clear, you are not the dummy referred to in my post, the lawyer is.

[rbosque]

People need to do things the RIGHT way. They need TO STAND IN LINE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!

[joebuck]

"The married couple said they were being denied equal treatment under a law that allows illegal residents to seek legalization if their deportation would cause exceptional hardship to a child or other close relative who is a U.S. citizen."

LOL, a legal argument sooooo stupid even the 9th Circus wouldn't buy it. Bet that lawyer feels like a dufuss.

[rocksblues]

The couple tried to use religion. That is a no-no for the 9th.

[donna]

There are just some topics too stupid to exist, LOL.

This is one of them.

Our country is becoming too stupid to exist!

Makes me wonder how many illegal alien children magically develop serious medical problems just in time for their parents to avoid deportation.

[informavoracious]

Ok, so they won’t break Church law to have a baby but they will break U.S. law by being illegals. Both are sins. Go to confession. In your own country.

[Graybeard58]

Good point. They should have said they were being discriminated against becuse of their atheism.

[paul51]

What’s the next argument to try? “If I’d been born in the U.S. I’d be a citizen, so you can’t deport me”???

Please, don't give them any ideas

[domenad]

Wow. With balls that big, you’d think they would have conceived by now.

[org.whodat]

The 9th, Circuit gets one right?

Running around looking for place to put mark on wall! :^)