INQUIRER Global Nation

TWENTY years ago, Ruel entered the United States on a seaman?s visa. A few months later, he jumped ship. He wanted to explore his opportunities in the US and build a better future for the two young children he left behind in 1989.

To obtain residency status in the US, Ruel filed an application for political asylum.

Ruel knew that this application had no basis, but he had advice from friends that this claim was an easy way to obtain a temporary employment authorization document. And he got it.

After being issued his employment authorization, he started working as a parking attendant in California.

Ruel worked as a parking attendant for 19 years and everything was running smoothly for him until the agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) knocked on his door early one morning.

Unknown to Ruel, his application for political asylum had been denied in 1993 and a final deportation order had been issued against him.

Ruel was released on bail after a couple of days. He had to report to ICE regularly while the case was pending.

Ruel was thankful for being able to work in the US for 19 years. He was able to send his two children to college. His children are now health care professionals who also have dreams of migrating to the US.

But after his traumatic experience in jail, he began to suffer from depression. He knew that he did not have a valid reason to stay longer in the US and was distressed by the thought of being deported.

He regretted having filed a baseless application for political asylum, which had gotten him into trouble.

On July 30, 2009, Ruel died of a massive stroke. Since he did not have enough savings, his remains were cremated and sent to his children in the Philippines.

Quick fixes

Most of the undocumented immigrants entered the United States with valid visas. There are those who decide to overstay then take extra steps to try and legalize their stay. Others take the ?quick but illegal? path. One classic example is the baseless filing of applications for political asylum.

In the early ?90s, there were immigration consultants who maliciously encouraged a significant number of overstaying Filipinos to file for political asylum. Upon filing the applications, they were issued temporary employment authorization cards.

Some applicants appear in court hearings and can appeal their case up to the appellate level before a final deportation order becomes enforceable.

Other applicants, like Ruel, simply abandon their applications. Either they are unaware of what actually was filed by their immigration consultants, or they thought they could get away with it. For this second category of applicants, their removal orders become final and enforceable without their knowledge.

When ICE implemented its program to remove from the US all those with final orders of deportation, many were arrested and deported.

Final orders of deportation

There are different solutions that may be presented to an individual with a final order of deportation.

Some forms of relief may still be raised to reopen the case depending on various circumstances. Some may stay in jail until they are deported. They experience severe anxiety and embarrassment, especially if they have been living and working in the US for several years.

The number of individuals that are removed from the US in view of final orders of deportation is increasing every year. The ?quick fix? they took in the past had come back to haunt them.

Lessons from Ruel

Prior to his demise, Ruel knew that his case was just one of thousands of cases now pending in immigration courts as a result of denied political asylum applications. The system caught up with them. Ruel somehow believed that the US would give him a second chance to work and stay in the US. It did not happen.