Pinay in US ordered deported for voting

CHICAGO, Illinois - A Filipina from Bukidnon province in the southern Philippines has been ordered deported by an immigration judge in Chicago, Illinois who found her in “violation of federal law" for casting her vote although she was not yet an American citizen. Beth Keathley, 30, of suburban Bloomington, Illinois, immediately filed an appeal before the Board of Immigration Appeals, arguing that because she “was lured into registering to vote by a government official, her act of voting could not constitute a violation of law." She said she made full disclosure of her non-US citizenship when she showed her Philippine passport as her identification as she appeared at the Illinois Secretary of State’s office before voting. Keathley’s lawyer, Richard Hanus, told this reporter in an e-mail, “in fact, there is a principle in federal law that states that those who act at the guidance and on the reasonable reliance from a government official cannot be later penalized for those actions and it is upon this principle which our appeal primarily rests." Hanus said that “although the judge made a finding that Keathley did not falsely claim to be a US citizen at the time she appeared at the Illinois Secretary of State's Office to obtain a drivers permit, he did rule that her act of voting was ‘in violation of federal law’ and thus made her ineligible for US residence." Hanus added, the judge “basically felt that his hands were tied because of the strict language of the law, no matter her state of mind." He stressed that the language of the State Illinois’ Election Code dictates that “foreign-born individuals, who are being registered to vote must provide information about the date and place they became naturalized as US citizen. “In this case, it was not Ms. Keathley who purposely sought out the voter registration process, but instead, it was the process that sought her out through the workings of federal motor voter law, where those seeking drivers licenses are given an easy avenue (too easy!) to register to vote. “Had state law been followed, Ms. Keathley and others would never have been mistakenly registered and would not be finding themselves in the disturbing predicament of fighting off deportation." Hanus said he is going to get an affidavit from a “seasoned Northwestern University law professor" who will assert that “it is fundamentally unfair for those who are innocently “snookered" into voting to face the same deportation consequences as violent criminals and that there is no legal basis to deny Ms. Keathley the chance to continue living in the US." Although he approached US Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) about the issue that puts Keathley in “the motor voter/deportation crossfire," Hanus does not expect “anyone to play the hero in Congress in the near future" to pass “an ameliorative legislation" that will introduce it as “part of immigration reform." Keathley, a native of Pigtauranan village in Pangantucan, Bukidnon, lost her job as a cleaning lady in a hospital as a result of the vote. She is now devoting full time to take care of 10-year-old baby, Sheina, daughter of her husband from a previous marriage, and Veronica, 12, as she awaits resolution of her appeal before the BIA. During her interview by the Immigration officer last year for the approval of her application for permanent residence (Green Card), Keatley told the officer that she voted in an election in 2006. Her application was immediately denied and she was processed for deportation. Hanus earlier maintained that Keathley should not be penalized because an “employee of the Secretary of State signed her up to vote, and she exercised what she thought was her right, when voting." Hanus said for his client’s application to be denied, an element of intent must be read into the statute, where only those who knowingly disregard the law with an intent to conceal or misrepresent facts should be penalized, not innocent actors like Keathley. “It was a complete innocent misunderstanding by my client as she was enticed into registering to vote,." he said. Keathley's alleged crime took place at the Illinois Secretary of State facility in Bloomington, where a clerk invited her to register to vote as part of the motor voter program after she obtained her state identification card. The state employees are not allowed by federal law from inquiring citizenship before registering people to vote. While federal officials say the question on the registration form that asks applicants to affirm they are citizens is clear enough. As intentional voter fraud had to be enforced a rise of deportation cases due to voting fraud would likely increase. Keathley is a wife of an American citizen, John. Their baby was born in the United States. In the Philippines, she worked as a machine operator for a microchip maker that paid her the equivalent of $4 a day. Her job at a hospital paid her $9 per hour. Her husband, John, works as a customer service agent at a home improvement store. – GMANews.TV