CNN
June 5 2008
Valedictorian’s academic plans threatened by deportation
CNN) — A high school valedictorian’s plans to study medicine at a
California state university have run headlong into the federal
government’s attempts to return him and his family to Armenia.
Arthur Mkoyan, 17, was 2 years old when his family came to the United
States.
"I haven’t been in Armenia since I was 2, so I don’t really know
anything about the place," said Arthur Mkoyan, 17. "All I’ve seen is
just videos my mom has watched on the Internet."
Mkoyan’s long-term plans were turned upside down one morning in April
when two immigration officers arrived at the door of his family’s
house.
"They took both of my parents, and they released my mom because she
had to take care of us, since me and my brother are minors," he
recalled. "But instead they took my dad away to a detention center in
Arizona."
Mkoyan, who has a grade-point average above 4.0 — extra credit for
Advanced Placement classes makes that possible — is set to graduate
next week from Bullard High School in Fresno, California. Watch
students from Arthur’s school talk about his case »
Ten days later, Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to deport
him and his family to the Armenian capital city of Yerevan, the same
city his family fled in fear 16 years ago.
Back then, Mkoyan’s father, Ruben Mkoian (he and his son spell their
last names differently), was a sergeant in an Armenian equivalent of a
department of motor vehicles, according to a court document.
"He was approached with a bribe to register stolen vehicles. He
refused. A co-worker took the bribe. Mkoian reported the incident to
the chief of the DMV, who told him to mind his own business," the
document states.
"Subsequently, he and his family were subjected to attacks he believed
were attempts to silence him about corruption at the DMV."
In what the family considers one such attempt, their house was set on
fire in 1992. That led the father to send his family to Russia and
then to the United States, Arthur Mkoyan said.
They arrived in the United States in 1995 on six-month tourist visas,
according to Virginia Kice, a public information officer with
Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The family settled in Fresno, where Mkoian worked as a truck driver
and his wife worked in a jewelry store. They set about living their
lives, which soon included a younger brother for Arthur.
But after the visas expired, the family’s application to remain in the
United States was denied. In 2002, an immigration judge ruled that
they had no legal basis to remain in the country, Kice said.
After their application to the Board of Immigration Appeals was
rejected, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year denied their
petition for a hearing.
The court was unpersuaded by the father’s assertion that he might
still be subject to reprisal if he were to return.
"Mkoian’s fear that Armenian officials would be unable or unwilling to
protect him seems unfounded because he provided little evidence that
they were unable or unwilling to protect him in the past," the appeals
court said.
To Kice, it’s a simple matter of enforcing the law.
"I would remind people that this family had ample access to due
process," she said. "The case has been in litigation for more than 10
years. Immigration experts on every level determined that they had no
legal basis to be in the United States."
She noted that the government agreed to delay their deportation so
Arthur can graduate with his class.
Arthur’s schoolmates at Bullard are shocked that his academic
achievements haven’t helped his case.
"It’s really hard to get good grades in this school," freshman Alex
Stewart told affiliate KGPE. "It’s a challenging school, so to get a
4.0, you really gotta try."
Still, a longer-term reprieve remains possible, if
unlikely. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, may attempt to pass a
"private bill" that would allow the family to remain in the United
States.
"Our office is looking into the case," said Scott Gerber, a spokesman
for the senator.
But the odds against it are long. There is "almost no chance" that the
family’s quest for a private bill will succeed, said Daniel Kowalski,
editor-in-chief of Bender’s Immigration Bulletin.
"Very few are being passed," he said.
In fact, of the 21 private immigration bills introduced last year,
none was enacted. In 2006, 117 were introduced, and none was enacted;
in 2005, 98 were introduced, and four were enacted.
But the filing itself would buy the family time, since it suspends any
efforts to deport the family until the bill’s fate is determined.
Arthur appeared undaunted. He appealed to a reporter to publicize his
e-mail address ([email protected]) so he can forward any letters of
support to Feinstein.
Meanwhile, the academic skills he has displayed in Fresno may not
easily translate to college in Armenia. Arthur said he understands
only a few words of Armenian.
video
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