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Posted on 10/07/2003 3:10:47 PM PDT by grania
When Moises Rodrigues of Brockton went to the main prison on Cape Verde to visit a group of prisoners earlier this year, he was stunned to see familiar faces.
Of the 20 prisoners Rodrigues met with, at least a quarter of the men were from Brockton and few were fluent in Portuguese Creole.
"I was shocked when I went to the prison and saw some of the Brockton kids that I didn't even know were deported," said Rodrigues, an alternate to the Cape Verdean parliament. "They were psyched to see me because they could speak with somebody other than each other in English."
The issue of deporting individuals who grew up in America but were born in Cape Verde is expected to be raised this week with Brockton Mayor John T. Yunits Jr., who will meet political leaders during a week-long visit to Cape Verde.
Yunits, who left for Cape Verde Monday night with his wife, Lees, to attend a wedding, is set to tour towns from where many Brockton residents hail and meet with several mayors about their concerns.
"There is no question deportation is going to be an issue," Yunits said.
The number of Cape Verdeans deported from the United States is low compared with other countries.
For example, of the 53,214 people deported nationally in 1997 because they were convicted of crimes, 21 were from Cape Verde. Last year, two people were deported to Cape Verde, but only one because of a criminal conviction.
But even a low number of deportees can be a problem for the tiny country, Rodrigues said.
"When you talk about deportation, since 1980 or so, I don't think we have had 400 deported from all over the United States. But for a small country, a peaceful country, even these small numbers can create a problem. There is not a large number of police forces to keep these kids in line," he said.
"The deportees are isolated. They have no support. Some of them have no family there at all," he said. "The entire family is here: parents, siblings, grandparents. They have absolutely nobody there. It is tough all around."
Lt. William Conlon, chief of the Brockton detective division, said deportation is a major concern of most immigrants who are arrested, with some criminals using fake identification to avoid immigration investigations.
For example, some drug-dealing suspects from the Dominican Republic have tried to assume the identity of Americans born in Puerto Rico, he said.
"Sometimes it doesn't get discovered until they are through court and then they just skip bail," he said.
In Cape Verde, deportees are outcasts in society, Rodrigues said. "They feel like a fish out of water."
It is also difficult for the families left behind who worry about their children and siblings who have been deported and often wind up sending money to them in Cape Verde to help the deportees survive.
Most of the deportees came to the United States as young children, only speak English and have no family in Cape Verde, he said. They face an isolated life on Cape Verde and are often ostrocized and unable to find work, Rodrigues said.
"They are branded as deportees," he said. "They have nothing there."
Ricardo Barros, a criminal attorney who also specializes in immigration law, said the deportees are often young men who are strangers in their homeland.
The deportees grew up in a different social setting and often clash with those who live on Cape Verde, he said.
"They are putting very fast young men in a very sedentary, slow, life system," Barros said.
Avoiding deportation can be a tricky process, Barros said.
If a person is convicted of a crime and given a sentence, even one that is suspended, of more than a year, he or she can be deported, he said.
A person can also be deported if he or she is convicted of an aggravated felony, including domestic assault and battery, even if the sentence given is less than a year, he said.
While the prospect of deportation for convicted felons who are not American citizens existed for years, it became more of an issue after the Oklahoma City bombing. Regulations were broadened to include felonies not considered serious enough to warrant deportation in the past.
Barros said family disturbances that result in a domestic assault and battery conviction can lead to deportation — and the fracturing of families. Shoplifting convictions can also lead to deportation, he said.
As a result, the tighter regulations can lead to the deportation of resident aliens who grew up in the United States, are immersed in the American culture and have no ties to their native country, he said.
"The whole part of this problem is this has become a dragnet for common people who have been here a long, long time," Barros said.
Rodrigues said when he visited deportees now in prison in Cape Verde, some considered jail better than freedom in that country. "They get branded on the outside. They can't get jobs. At least in prison they are getting three square meals. They don't have to worry about getting arrested," he said.
But one thing the young men did want, he said.
"One of the requests was to send them some books in English, some reading material. All the stuff was in Portuguese," he said. "I told them, 'You should have been spending more times reading books than on the street before.'"
Yunits said he expects to hear more about the problems facing the deportees during his visit, but also wants to learn more about Cape Verde.
"I would think I will come back with a better understanding," Yunits said.
With 1,000 students at the high school from Cape Verde and the population growing in the city, Yunits said it is important to know what immigrants faced in Cape Verde. He said it is also important to learn what cultural similarities and differences there are.
"This is a new generation of Brocktonians," Yunits said.
Yunits said he realized the significance of the trip during a dinner for the Cape Verdean prime minister at the Shaw's Center in Brockton during the weekend where more than 650 people gathered.
"When it was announced we were going to Cape Verde, they gave me a standing ovation, which caught me off guard," he said. "It made me realize how important this is to do."
Could someone please explain the thought process of Mayor Yunits of Brockton, MA? Why couldn't a small, peaceful country provide language tutors? Why is a resident of Brockton an alternate to the Cape Verdean parliament? Why are the illegals breaking the law if they're so concerned?
Grrrrr......
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It Better Be!!!
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