By: Daniel Nardini

Even though the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had him deported, had separated his children from him and his disabled wife, and North Carolina’s Department of Child Services had put his children up for adoption, Felipe Bautista Montes never gave up on his family. Through the efforts of the Mexican government, Montes was able to return to the United States and back to North Carolina to try and reclaim his children. Normally, when U.S. immigration takes away the kids, they pretty much make sure that the family is permanently separated and the parent(s) lose their rights over their children even if they are fit to be parents. It has become a major, major battle between undocumented parents versus the American immigration bureaucracy. Montes has never given up the fight for his kids, and now the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has had to concede to Mexico’s demand that Montes be allowed back on “humanitarian grounds” to try and persuade a North Carolina judge to allow his children to join him in Mexico.

I reported some months back that Montes had been deported from the United States for being illegally here. Because of his undocumented status, the State of North Carolina took away his children and has argued, as all of the other states are arguing, that the children should be put up for adoption so they can have “a better life.” The argument is as bogus as it is racist. It is saying that the parent(s) from Third World countries are less loving than those in the United States, and that undocumented people are incapable to loving and taking care of their own children. Such similar logic has occurred in other countries where certain governments have argued that America is an exceptionally violent and dangerous place and that American children should never be allowed to return to America. This country’s double standard is making a mockery of what justice really is. The only thing I am happy about is that Montes has been allowed to return to the United States to be able to claim his children.

But the fight is far from over. The State of North Carolina is still fighting tooth and nail to keep his kids on the argument that adoptive families can give them a better life. Montes’ wife is not being allowed to join her husband in Mexico, but more important is the fact that this story is far from over. There is no guarantee that Montes will get his kids back, and the humanitarian visa Montes was issued is good for only 90 days. Sadly, the wheels of the judicial process in this country moves too slow. Will the State of North Carolina drag its feet until his visa is up? Will Montes humanitarian visa be renewed? Will U.S. immigration put up more roadblocks for this poor family? I can only hope there will be a happy ending.