Guadalajara -
More than a year ago MGRR reported on the curious case of 23 year old Emma Coronel, one of several wives Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán has had over the years (he's 55 or 58 - nobody knows for sure). In the summer of 2011 Coronel made a brief visit to a Los Angeles area hospital, where she delivered up twin girls (electing not to identify their father on the California birth certificate). She entered and left the United States lawfully (tailed all the way by DEA agents) because she's a U.S. citizen. And when she returned to Mexico with her two little bundles of joy, so were they (Wife of Mexican drug lord El Chapo Guzmán delivers twin girls in U.S. hospital).
Six days ago (Oct. 12) another daughter of the world's most wanted narcotics trafficker - a much older one, Alejandrina Gisselle Guzmán Salazar - was stopped at the U.S. border crossing station in San Ysidro, California, just south of San Diego and right on the international frontier. The woman displayed a Mexican passport with someone else's name, and a bogus U.S. entry visa. Mexicans cannot enter the United States without a pre-approved visa.
An agent on duty immediately recognized that the purported U.S. visa was fraudulent. A electronic fingerprint scan and an interview with the subject quickly revealed her true identity. She admitted everything, including her real name and the fact that she was carrying chocolates - forged documents. Her reason? To give birth in the States. The two page Complaint below sets forth a few more details.
The sole offense charged is Misuse of an Entry Document, a very petty crime by federal standards. But prosecutors told a magistrate in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California that Ms. Guzmán, 31, is a flight risk, and the judge ordered that she be detained without bond until Oct. 25, when a formal detention hearing will be conducted. Undoubtedly she'll receive appropriate prenatal care in the local brig during her stay in the country - all at U.S. taxpayer expense.
Authorities say that Ms. Guzmán claimed to have no knowledge of her famous father's whereabouts.
Some argue that a child born within United States territory to non-citizens should not automatically become an American citizen, if the event on U.S. soil was fortuitous. But nonetheless that's the law, and has been for well over a century, since the U.S. Supreme Court decided the landmark case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark [169 U.S. 649 (1898)]. The legal rule is unlikely to change anytime soon, although conservative forces have at times lobbied for a constitutional amendment which would eviscerate the Court's ruling. And the Court itself has never precisely considered whether a child born to undocumented persons illegally in the country should receive the benefits of automatic citizenship.
Oct. 25 - Back in court today, an obviously pregnant Alejandrina Guzmán entered a plea of not guilty. Her next appearance will be Nov. 30. She may well get her wish of giving birth in the United States.
Dec. 20 - Guzmán changed her plea to guilty yesterday, was sentenced to time served and ordered immediately deported. No one should be surprised by that resolution. The last thing the government wanted was another Guzmán with an American birth certificate and a U.S. passport. She's said to be about seven months along. If Alejandrina tries the same caper again, the penalty will be more severe.
Alejandrina Guzman
© MGRR 2012. All rights reserved. This article may be cited or briefly quoted with proper attribution or a hyperlink, but not reproduced without permission.
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