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Detained Armenians grapple with despair
By Kevin Simpson, Denver Post Staff Writer
Denver Post, CO
Nov 25 2004
Battling boredom, tears and uncertainty, four Armenian family members
said Wednesday that they struggle to believe their quest to remain
in the U.S. will end happily after nearly three weeks in immigration
lockup.
Their case mirrors thousands of others, say authorities, but with one
notable exception - the Sargsyans have the town of Ridgway mobilized
behind them.
"Everybody says it's going to be fine, told us we're going to get out
in a week, then two weeks," said 20-year-old Gevorg Sargsyan. "It's
already been 19 or 20 days, and we're still locked up. Every time
your heart is broken, you get to be more unrealistic of what's
happening. Seeing brick walls all day long, not getting the smell of
fresh air, doesn't get your hopes up in any way."
Despite efforts to be granted "parole status" after being adopted by
the U.S. citizen who married one of their sisters, Gevorg and his
18-year-old brother, Hayk, remain in the same legal limbo as their
father, Ruben, and older sister, Meri.
Final orders have been issued on all four, which means they could be
deported to Armenia at any time, says U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement officials.
Friends and townsfolk from Ridgway have demonstrated at the Aurora
detention facility in support of the Sargsyans, but immigration
authorities say the law is clear.
Meanwhile, the men bunk in an open area designed for about 45 people.
Meri lives with about 10 other women in a separate space.
Gevorg has checked out a book from the facility's library, a novel
set in Nazi Germany.
"I'm kind of numb," he said. "I don't feel anything anymore. The last
17 days seem like 20 years. I used to own a car, have an apartment,
take tests, write papers - now all that seems like a fantasy."
Gevorg, a chemical engineering student at the University of Colorado
at Boulder, said he's had visits from two college instructors and a
high school teacher. All left him problems in math and logic to solve.
Hayk would have graduated from high school this spring.
Meri, 28, taught and played piano for San Juan Presbyterian Church
before she and the others were detained. Kids from the church Sunday
school sent her cards that have given her some comfort amid what she
regards as an impersonal system.
"They don't care who you are," she said, on the verge of tears.
Two family members have immigration cases still pending amid a tangle
of shifting relationships and legal wrangling.
Family matriarch Susan Sargsyan appealed her deportation order and
awaits a new hearing.
Her daughter, Nvart, married a U.S. citizen in 1999 and has been
granted permanent residence, although immigration authorities have
appealed that ruling.
Nvart's ex-husband, an American named Vaughn Huckfeldt, met and
married her overseas and then provided family members student visas.
When Nvart divorced him, he reported the family to immigration
authorities, who charged that the Sargsyans fraudulently entered
the country.
That triggered what has become a protracted battle to stay in the U.S.
Attorney Jeff Joseph continues to pursue legal avenues to keep the
Sargsyans in the U.S., but he acknowledges that the situation is
taking a toll on the detainees.
"For someone who's never been in jail, never been under arrest,
it's terribly demoralizing," Joseph said.
By Kevin Simpson, Denver Post Staff Writer
Denver Post, CO
Nov 25 2004
Battling boredom, tears and uncertainty, four Armenian family members
said Wednesday that they struggle to believe their quest to remain
in the U.S. will end happily after nearly three weeks in immigration
lockup.
Their case mirrors thousands of others, say authorities, but with one
notable exception - the Sargsyans have the town of Ridgway mobilized
behind them.
"Everybody says it's going to be fine, told us we're going to get out
in a week, then two weeks," said 20-year-old Gevorg Sargsyan. "It's
already been 19 or 20 days, and we're still locked up. Every time
your heart is broken, you get to be more unrealistic of what's
happening. Seeing brick walls all day long, not getting the smell of
fresh air, doesn't get your hopes up in any way."
Despite efforts to be granted "parole status" after being adopted by
the U.S. citizen who married one of their sisters, Gevorg and his
18-year-old brother, Hayk, remain in the same legal limbo as their
father, Ruben, and older sister, Meri.
Final orders have been issued on all four, which means they could be
deported to Armenia at any time, says U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement officials.
Friends and townsfolk from Ridgway have demonstrated at the Aurora
detention facility in support of the Sargsyans, but immigration
authorities say the law is clear.
Meanwhile, the men bunk in an open area designed for about 45 people.
Meri lives with about 10 other women in a separate space.
Gevorg has checked out a book from the facility's library, a novel
set in Nazi Germany.
"I'm kind of numb," he said. "I don't feel anything anymore. The last
17 days seem like 20 years. I used to own a car, have an apartment,
take tests, write papers - now all that seems like a fantasy."
Gevorg, a chemical engineering student at the University of Colorado
at Boulder, said he's had visits from two college instructors and a
high school teacher. All left him problems in math and logic to solve.
Hayk would have graduated from high school this spring.
Meri, 28, taught and played piano for San Juan Presbyterian Church
before she and the others were detained. Kids from the church Sunday
school sent her cards that have given her some comfort amid what she
regards as an impersonal system.
"They don't care who you are," she said, on the verge of tears.
Two family members have immigration cases still pending amid a tangle
of shifting relationships and legal wrangling.
Family matriarch Susan Sargsyan appealed her deportation order and
awaits a new hearing.
Her daughter, Nvart, married a U.S. citizen in 1999 and has been
granted permanent residence, although immigration authorities have
appealed that ruling.
Nvart's ex-husband, an American named Vaughn Huckfeldt, met and
married her overseas and then provided family members student visas.
When Nvart divorced him, he reported the family to immigration
authorities, who charged that the Sargsyans fraudulently entered
the country.
That triggered what has become a protracted battle to stay in the U.S.
Attorney Jeff Joseph continues to pursue legal avenues to keep the
Sargsyans in the U.S., but he acknowledges that the situation is
taking a toll on the detainees.
"For someone who's never been in jail, never been under arrest,
it's terribly demoralizing," Joseph said.