Fil-Am Family Suffers Indignity at Hands of INS
NCM Civil Liberties Watch
Asian Journal, Posted: Dec 09, 2002
LOS ANGELES - He was treated like a criminal - humiliated, chained, handcuffed, stripped of his clothing, finger printed, tagged, tactically interrogated, mentally tortured and languished in jail with suspected criminals for almost two weeks. If this thing can happen to Andres Dino Dy Jr., it can surely happen to anyone, especially if you're a Filipino.
Dy is a permanent legal resident of the United States and has stayed here for 22 years now. Dy, his American wife Rosemary and two kids seemed to be living an American dream, but now everything is slowly turning into a nightmare.
He is not a criminal nor wanted by the law, not even a drug offender as some published reports wrongfully indicated. In fact, he is a law-abiding citizen who might have been a victim of racial profiling and the U.S. government's post-Sept. 11 paranoia. Dy's only police record was way back on April 23, 1987, when he badmouthed a kid in Chicago. He subsequently pleaded guilty to a child abuse charge in exchange for a plea bargain, which included a one-year probation which he served.
Since then, Dy lived a peaceful life with his wife, 12-year-old daughter and six-year-old son and later moved to Las Vegas, Nevada six years ago where they bought a house.
Dy has found being a tailor and fashion designer quite challenging after his transfer to Las Vegas and has doubled as a dishwasher and a taxi driver to make both ends meet.
A native of Naic, Cavite, Dy is currently subject for deportation by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) after coming back to the U.S. mainland for the nth time via Los Angeles airport (LAX) from a one-week vacation in his native Philippines. Dy said he is now walking the streets without any identification after his passport, green card and driver's license were confiscated by the arresting INS officer and his I.D.s were never returned. The INS claimed his items were the property of the Federal Government.
Deportation
Dy is awaiting for the next date of his hearing and court prosecution in Las Vegas and is out on a $1,500 bail. In a court document obtained by the Asian Journal, Dy is subject for removal from the United States pursuant to the following provisions of law; Section 212 (a)(2)(A)(i)(I) the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. The court document indicated that Dy is "an alien who has been convicted of, or who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of crime involving moral turpitude (other than a purely political offense)."
The document also stated that Dy was "on 04/23/87 convicted in the Chicago Court for the offense of Criminal Sexual Abuse on which you were sentenced to one year probation." Dy vehemently denied the Sexual Abuse charge and commented that a certain R.A. Espina, a Filipino INS officer, could have typed a wrong charge. "Child Abuse is totally different from Sexual Abuse, and that I maintained," he said.
"I have always adopted a positive outlook in life but right now, I am frustrated that I may never get justice," said the 57-year-old Dy. "My experience should be an eye-opener to everyone, especially to those other people, including several Filipinos, who are still languishing in jail, some for many months now, awaiting their day in court."
Homeland Security
There is not much pain for Dy even if some of his belongings were not returned including pasalubongs of dried fish, ham, cheese, yams and many more which were thrown into the garbage can by an unnamed officer. But after his wife was hospitalized for a week and suffered a nervous breakdown and his kids were not able to attend school for two weeks, Dy has been considering going back home to the Philippines, for good.
With the U.S.'s tight Homeland Security in full force, Dy is now being asked to answer for a crime he committed and paid for in 1987.
In fact, hundreds have been caught and sent back to the Philippines since the September 11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. The U.S. has since been on the offensive, bombing Afghanistan in a bid to catch Al Qaeda mastermind Osama bin-Laden and is all set to bomb Iraq next, which is suspected of having weapons of mass destruction. Iraq's involvement in the 9-11 tragedy has not yet been established since and bin-Laden has been listed as "dead" only to resurface again in recent developments.
The Philippines, long been an ally of the United States, has unwittingly been singled out by the U.S. as one of the countries which was suspected of harboring terrorists, particularly because of the presence of the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim extremist group reportedly formed by the (Central Intelligence Agency) CIA itself. The Abu Sayyaf (Bearer of the Sword), currently a kidnap-for-ransom group, was trained and utilized by the U.S. to repulse Russian forces, which lost in its invasion bid of Afghanistan in the 80’s. Today, the U.S. has interests in oil fields in the Caspian Sea in the former Soviet Republics and is planning to build a huge pipeline so it can siphon the oil by way of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Also recently, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have seen their Australian and Canadian embassies closed because of apparent terrorist plots.
"Hindi na ako natatakot magsalita ng kahit na ano o kahit kanino matapos kong maranasan ang hirap sa kulungan," said Dy. (I am not afraid tell all or to talk to anyone after what I went through in jail). He said he could voluntarily leave the U.S. with his family even if he wins his extradition case. "I've seen and heard it all in jail. Detainees coughed up money and their lawyers simply vanished after taking the money and these men are still in jail."
So frustrated is the Dy family that Andres has been contemplating going back to the Philippines. "Although I am not one to just cower and bow down when persecuted, I think the right thing to do right now is just to go back to the Philippines and start a new life," said Dy.
"The American Dream is no longer the same. At least, doon as Filipinas, kahit mahirap, nakangiti. Doon, kahit walang edukasyon, may respeto sa tao," said Dy (At least in the Philippines, even the poor can afford to smile. Even people without education get respect)
Dy would want to pursue the philanthropic work of his late parents who helped open up the Cavite Community Academy in 1946. While in Chicago, Dy, through the help of kind-hearted friends, was able to send 36 kids to high school from 1988 to 1996.
Consul's Help
Dy luckily chronicled in a little notepad all of the little things that transpired during his incarceration starting from Day One, when a fellow Filipino at the Immigration Office initially decided that he be interrogated. But even his passport indicating his past travels abroad and documents like driver's license and his green card were not enough proof that he should take the green light home.
From Nov. 13 to Nov. 26, he was shifted from one prison to another for processing and awaiting the next date with the Department of Justice. Here, he met other people of all walks who had shared their own horror stories and also made a record of their stories and their names.
It was only after six days in jail when help in the form of Los Angeles Philippine Consul Malou Montero came. On Nov. 23, Montero again talked to Dy and soon, bail was negotiated for his release. But since Dy's wife Rosemary was hospitalized for a nervous breakdown, he still had to wait for three more days before he was released.
With the help of his best friend Charito Villacorte, who wired money from Illinois, Dy finally found freedom and was sent home on $1,500 bail. He even shared the $30 left in his pocket with a Sri Lankan national who was also released that day. Villacorte also facilitated for the purchase of a Greyhound bus ticket for Dy to return to the arms of his family.
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