Congress Approves Feinstein Legislation to
Provide Permanent Residency to Four Californians
October 27, 2000

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Congress today approved legislation, sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), to provide permanent residence status to four Californians who had faced deportation, but whose extraordinary circumstances merited private legislation to grant them relief. The measures now need to be signed by President Clinton to become law.

“By all definitions of fairness, these Californians deserve to be in the United States legally,” Senator Feinstein said. “But through circumstances beyond their control, they were faced with the prospect of deportation, with no avenues for administrative or legal relief.”

“I introduced these bills to right these wrongs and to ensure that these people, who have already gone through so much, do not have to face further hardship due to the inadequacies of our immigration law.”

Private legislation is usually introduced on behalf of individuals whose compelling circumstances require Congress to act when administrative or legal remedies have been exhausted. In the 106th Congress, Senator Feinstein introduced separate pieces of private legislation to grant relief to Guy Taylor, Tony Lara, Sergio Lozano and Mina Notash. The following are their stories:

Guy Taylor, Orange County, CA – Guy Taylor was born in Canada, but spent the first half of his life in the United States attending school and living with his mother. His father died before he was born and in 1998 his mother died of a drug overdose while they were back in Canada, this left him without anyone except for his family in Southern California.

After his mother’s death, Guy’s grandmother, Oleta Hansen, flew to Canada to bring her grandchild back to the U.S. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) allowed Guy to temporarily enter the U.S. by granting him a one-year humanitarian parole. Once the parole expired the INS extended it for one more year, a very rare act on the part of the agency.

Current immigration law prohibits children under 21 to adjust to permanent legal residency without their parents. In addition, Guy was too old to be legally adopted by his grandmother, so he was left without an option for obtaining lawful permanent residence.

Tony Lara, Northridge, CA – Ten years ago, Tony Lara and his younger sister, Olga, were brought to the United States by their parents fleeing the civil war in El Salvador. That same year, his mother was deported back to El Salvador and drowned while trying to re-enter the U.S.

Tony’s father turned to drugs, abandoned his children, and was eventually deported in 1994, not to been heard from again. Tony and his sister had been taken in by an uncle who had neglected to care for them. Eventually, Tony’s neighbors, Philip and Linda Bracken, invited the children to live with them. The Brackens later adopted Olga but the couple lacked the resources to adopt Tony.

In 1996, Tony met his high school’s wrestling coach, Terrence Fisher. Mr. Fisher knew little about Tony’s circumstances, but he noticed his slight build and extreme sadness. When the coach had discovered Tony was homeless and hungry, he invited him to live with his family. Mr. Fisher also invited Tony to try out for the school’s wrestling team. Although he had never wrestled before, Tony was a natural.

By his senior year, Tony had worked hard and captured the California state wresting championship for his age group and weight class. He had also excelled socially and academically. After Tony graduated from high school, he continued to win wrestling championships and has become a role model in his community. He is now continuing his education by studying business at West Valley Occupational Center.

Sergio Lozano, Westlake, CA – Sergio Lozano lived with his siblings and their mother, until his mother’s death in February 1999 due to complications from typhoid fever. Since then, the three siblings have been living with their closest relative, their U.S. citizen grandmother, who lives in Los Angeles and has since adopted the two younger children.

Without his mother, Sergio does not have the legal right to remain in the United States. When he first arrived in the United States at 17, he was unable to obtain lawful permanent residence because immigration law prohibits permanent legal residency to minor children without their parents. However, as a child of 17, he was also outside the age limit for adoption by his grandmother. As a result, Sergio, through no fault of his own, has been left in limbo in the United States.

Without legal status, this young man can be deported by the INS despite the fact the he has no immediate family in El Salvador except their estranged father who was alleged to have been abusive to the mother and the children. Here in the United States, he can remain with his brother and sister, further his education and continue to thrive in the loving environment provided by his U.S. citizen grandmother and uncles.

Mina Notash, Huntington Beach, CA – Mina Notash was brought to the United States in 1988 as an undocumented alien by her former husband. She is the mother of two U.S. citizen children who are now 8 and 10 years old. They currently live in Houston, Texas with her former husband. During their seven-year marriage Ms. Notash had to endure severe physical abuse and verbal taunts by her husband. In 1994, Ms. Notash’s husband directed her to return to Iran to visit her family, explaining to her that he would later petition the INS for her visa.

However, once she was in Iran, he divorced her. This divorce was according to Iranian laws, leaving Ms. Notash with no recourse to dispute the divorce or to judiciously resolve any child custody issues. In 1998, Ms. Notash returned to the U.S. on a valid K-1 fiancée visa. Her fiancée called off the marriage, however, when he discovered that she wanted to obtain custody of her children. Her former husband now refuses to allow her to visit her children. As a permanent resident, Ms. Notash would have the opportunity to be reunited with her children.