by Frank James
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) wants it known that he has asked the Homeland Security Department to cease and desist in its efforts to deport the wife of one of the soldiers who went missing last month after his unit was attacked by Iraqi insurgents.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 20, 2007Kerry Tells Homeland Security Not to Deport Wife of Missing Soldier
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. John Kerry announced this morning that he is working to prevent US officials from deporting Yaderlin Hiraldo, a woman from the Dominican Republic whose husband has served two tours of duty in Iraq and is currently missing in action. Kerry said it is unconscionable for the Department of Homeland Security to deport the missing soldier’s wife under the current circumstances, and asked the agency not to take any action until her husband is found. The couple were married in 2004.
“Under no condition should our country ever deport the spouse of a soldier who is currently serving in uniform abroad,” Kerry said. “I feel even more strongly in this case, given the terrible uncertainty surrounding Army Specialist Alex Jimenez, who has been missing since May. Our country owes a special debt of gratitude to anyone who puts their life on the line by wearing a uniform and fighting overseas on behalf of the United States. My heart goes out to the family of Specialist Jimenez and I am determined to do everything in my power to make sure his wife is not deported from our country while our military is frantically searching for him.”
The Senator’s letter to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff is below:June 20, 2007
The Honorable Michael Chertoff
Secretary of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528Dear Secretary Chertoff:
I write today on behalf of one of my constituents Yaderlin Hiraldo. Yaderlin entered our country illegally in 2001. She was married to Army Specialist Alex Jimenez in 2004 and it was then that her status was first brought to the attention of immigration officials. Removal proceedings were brought against her however an administrative closure was placed on her file in 2006 due to her husband’s first deployment to Iraq. No further action has been taken since then.
Specialist Jimenez returned home from his first deployment with a Purple Heart and then returned to Iraq for a second tour of duty. On May 12th of this year Specialist Jimenez went missing after an attack on his unit by Iraqi insurgents. Two other members of his unit went missing in this attack, and as you know one of the soldier’s bodies has since been found but Specialist Jimenez and the other soldiers are still missing. Four other American soldiers and an Iraqi translator were also killed in the attack.
U.S. Special Forces are still searching for Specialist Jimenez. Recently his identification card was found, along with those of his unit members, in an al-Qaeda safe house north of Baghdad. An al-Qaeda front group has also posted a video claiming that they have killed the soldiers and buried them in Iraq. However no further information about the fate of Specialist Jimenez has been uncovered.
This is, obviously, a tragic situation, and Yaderlin Hiraldo and her family continue to wait for information about her husband. I do not believe that Yaderlin should have her stress and grief compounded by additional worries about her own immigration status. I request that no further action be taken Yaderlin’s case while her husband is missing in action. As Yaderlin waits to hear what has happened to her husband I ask that she be allowed to stay in our country. I believe this is a very real test of our government’s compassion for a military family which has already made enormous sacrifices for the United States. I appreciate your consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
John F. Kerry
We'll let you know what the Homeland Security Department's response is to Kerry's request.
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Comments
Another great example of what "Support the Troops" really means to the Republicans - absolutely nothing.
Posted by: Tony | June 20, 2007 12:56 PM
Now the liberalpress is going to tell us that ALL illegal immigrants are the wives of missing soldiers so we cannot deport anybody.
Posted by: S. Sherman | June 20, 2007 1:01 PM
Bravo, Mr. Kerry!
Posted by: lochnessmonster | June 20, 2007 1:07 PM
The people who stand up to defend this move..ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Posted by: bill r. | June 20, 2007 1:08 PM
How long do we have to wait for the right wing Swampters to get their talking points so they can respond to this article? Do they dare say they agree with John Kerry? We'll see how Hannity, Limbaugh, and Rove tell the sheeple what to think.
Posted by: jethro | June 20, 2007 1:21 PM
Oh Loony Lefties, pipe down!
1. It's not Republicans who sre apparently trying to deport this woman, but BUREAUCRATS!
2. And, yes, Jethro, I do agree with John Kerry on this. Under no circumstanes should this woman be deported!
Really, you Loony Lefties need to go cold turkey on the We Strive to Be Ignorant 24/7 Juice.
Posted by: John D | June 20, 2007 1:37 PM
Well John D, who do you think the BUREAUCRATS vote for?
Posted by: Cheryl | June 20, 2007 2:09 PM
Johnny D-
I get it, when the DHS catches "terrorists" like those guys down in Miami, it's the Republicans keeping us safe, but when they try to deport the wife of a missing soldier, it's all the bureaucrats fault.
The Republican motto- "The buck stops everywhere else"
Posted by: Tony | June 20, 2007 2:14 PM
Ah, another example of the loony left with their politically correct priorities. Deport the illegal, and to hell with her husband.
Posted by: Tom | June 20, 2007 2:28 PM
I think the responses to this blog by the wing nuts have reached the lowest level of the year. These must be the twenty eight percenters in action.
Posted by: c. perry | June 20, 2007 2:47 PM
I think the responses to this blog by the wing nuts have reached the lowest level of the year. These must be the twenty eight percenters in action.
Posted by: c. perry | June 20, 2007 2:47 PM
Cheryl, dear, most government bureaucrats actually tend to vote Democrat. You folks can't be that ignorant, are you?
Tony boy, Republicans ARE keeping us safe though programs and initiatives. DHS operatives are working to keep us safe, whether one is a Dumbocrap or a Republican.
Ok, I am fully convinced that the Loony Left truly has brains no bigger than amoeba poop!
Posted by: John D | June 20, 2007 3:44 PM
Johnny-
Initiatives like deporting this poor woman? Is that keeping us safe? Great job Chertoff!
Posted by: Tony | June 20, 2007 3:58 PM
Yes, Tony, government bureaucrat writes memo to Secretary Chertoff: "Sir, we have this illegal from Guatemala. Her husband is in the military, but is missing in action and possibly dead. What should we do?"
Chertoff: Send her back! Deport, deport, deport!!!"
Yeah, that's how it works and from an administration that is on fully on board with the Kennedy-McCain Illegal Immigration Freedom and Amnesty Bill.
But thanks for the additional proof that you folks DO have brains smaller than amoeba poop!!
Posted by: John D | June 20, 2007 5:28 PM
Mr. Kerry is doing what any senator should do for his constituents. In this particular case it seems the woman should be shown some humanity. If per chance this guy comes out of this alive, how would we explain to him that while he was going through hell for this country we were deporting his wife?
Posted by: Joyce | June 20, 2007 6:39 PM
Johnny,
It's really cowardly how the Republicans are always so willing to throw the underlings under the truck to protect those in charge. The way you guys act, you'd think the the President and his cabinet are absolutely powerless to effect what the government does.
Posted by: Tony | June 20, 2007 6:49 PM
Let me say this again for the perpetually stupid, the Loony Left:
As I previously stated, I DO NOT believe this woman should be deported under any circumstances.
Should I try and keep this to just one syllable words for you incredible dumbasses??
Posted by: John D | June 20, 2007 8:55 PM
John D,
If you really believe the bureaucrats that want to deport Mrs. Jimenez are Democrats you are more disillusioned than I thought.
To suggest that there are no Republicans in government is to ignore what the Justice Dept. under Gonzalez and Bush have been up to the past few years. It is to ignore the stuffing of federal judicial benches. It is to be ignorant of the political strategy of the Republican party since 1994.
But what am I saying. Of course you are that dense.
Posted by: Bud McFarlin | June 21, 2007 1:08 AM
Good god, you folks really sre more ignorant than road kill. Bud, NEVER did I say bureaucrart are Democrats and not Republicans. I said bureaucrats tend to be more Democratic than Republican.
What I did say is that the decision to deport this woman is made by bureaucrats. Cabinet secretaries do not decide who stays and who goes. Only in certain circumstances and cases would a department secretary get involved in something like this.
And the decision to possibly deport her was not made on a Republican/Democrat scale in regard to the bureaucrats.
Really, with the reading comprehension issues, inability to think issues, inability to reason issues all you loony lefters suffer from, has one of you ever gotten past kindergarten??? Please go back and begin re-reading the See Spot Books, then move into the Dick and Jane realm, some Disney and Sesame Street books, then perhaps Dr. Suess. Then move onto Tribune articles for the next level of reading comprehension. Oooops, skip that. You'll just go down the same brainwashed path and believe all the nonsense dished out by the Tribune reporters.
Posted by: John D | June 21, 2007 9:15 AM
Johnny "Dear" D'Luded,
If you and RNC Bruce dislike what you read in the Tribune so much, why do you post here?
Posted by: Doug Zook | June 21, 2007 9:43 AM
[quote]
Cheryl, dear, most government bureaucrats actually tend to vote Democrat.
Posted by: John D | June 20, 2007 3:44 PM
John D:
Post a link or links that back up your allegation, or admit that you're just making up stuff for the sake of anti-Democratic ranting.
Posted by: BC | June 21, 2007 11:29 AM
I wonder what the nationality/citizenship status of Army Specialist Alex Jimenez might be? If he was/is not a US citizen, I don't believe he could sponsor a wife for citizenship. If he was/is a US citizen, then the INS should expedite her immigration status.
Posted by: BT | July 2, 2007 12:19 PM
great job
god bless america and our troops.
Posted by: mustansir f bangi | February 12, 2008 11:21 PM