Fleeing violence in Mexico, one Honduran family decided to cross into
the U.S. illegally last month and turn themselves over to Border Patrol
agents in the desert near San Diego.
The father and son were immediately returned to the border and told to
walk back to Tijuana, but the mother, who was pregnant, was in pain. So
Border Patrol agents took her to a nearby hospital, where she gave
birth.
Two days later, the mother was given a choice: Go back to Mexico with or
without her newborn, who is a U.S. citizen by birthright.
"That's not a choice. That's not a legitimate choice," said Mitra
Ebadolahi, an attorney with the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties.
She said the mother and the baby returned to Mexico.
"My parents, brother, and I left Iran in 1980, shortly after the revolution. After a brief stay in Italy, we packed all our belongings once again and headed west to the exotic and the unknown: Vancouver. We had recently been accepted as landed immigrants, meaning Canada graciously opened its doors and we gratefully accepted; we arrived at Vancouver International Airport on my 10th birthday, three suitcases and one sewing machine in tow. After respectful but intense questioning at immigration, we were dropped off at a hotel on Robson Street, which was then still a couple years shy of becoming the fashionable tourist hub it is today. We were jetlagged, culture shocked, and hungry, so that first night, my father and brother courageously ventured out into the wild in search of provisions. I fell asleep before they returned. The next morning, I woke up at 5 a.m. and ravenously feasted on a cold Quarter Pounder with cheese and limp French fries that had been left by my beds...

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