Unofficially, He’s a Good Citizen; Legally, He’s Out

Some people will celebrate the news that Walter Hernandez will be put on a plane Monday and deported to El Salvador.

One less illegal immigrant in the country, you know. One less case number for the Immigration and Naturalization Service to worry about.

In a sense, “Walter Hernandez” doesn’t exist. He has become Case No. 77289208 because he got pulled over Nov. 14 on a traffic stop in Anaheim. He had no identification, Anaheim police say, so he was taken to the police station for booking. INS officers, who regularly interview detainees, ultimately determined he wasn’t a legal U.S. resident.

From that point on, whatever “Walter Hernandez” had done since coming to America as a grade schooler makes no difference.

At 19, it’s not as though Hernandez has had a chance to carve out much of a niche.

Unless, that is, you ask the people who know him.

They know him as the kid who graduated last spring from Los Amigos High School as a two-time CIF wrestling champ and who was going to help coach this year. They know him as the average student who tried hard in school and planned to enroll in Golden West College. They know him as the kid who worked out two hours a day this fall with the Golden West wrestling team--even though he wasn’t on the team--as he prepared for his college career. They knew him as the kid who worked at the campus food court to earn money.

That’s the 19-year-old who’s bound for El Salvador, where he apparently hasn’t lived since 1988, according to Andrew Bonsall, his high school coach.

Much Admired

“He’s such a loved kid,” a despondent Bonsall says of Hernandez’s reputation at Los Amigos. “Just a neat personality. You couldn’t help but fall in love with him as a person. On the wrestling mat, though, he was formidable.”

Hernandez won the 103-pound title as a junior and the 112-pound title as a senior. The CIF has rings for champions, but because the Hernandez family didn’t have much money, Walter didn’t get one.

“The administration kind of frowns on this, because we don’t do it for every kid, but [last summer] we all pitched in to get him his CIF ring,” Bonsall says. “The teachers wanted to let him know how much we cared about him.”

The ring arrived two weeks ago. Last week, Bonsall learned that Hernandez was in INS custody in Lancaster.

INS official Leonard Kovensky says Hernandez has chosen voluntary deportation, which will make it much easier to return someday to the United States.

Length-of-stay in the U.S. doesn’t give anyone special rights to remain here, Kovensky says. It generally falls to a parent to secure their children’s citizenship, he says.

Los Amigos academic counselor Chris Pieklo saw Hernandez away from the wrestling mats. “He was a polite young man,” he says, “very good-natured, very positive, up-tempo. In terms of academics, whenever he ran into difficulties, he always accepted his responsibilities and faced the challenge head-on.”

The irony of that statement, of course, is that neither Hernandez nor his family tended to his citizenship status. Nor had he ever brought it up to his coach or counselor, they say.

“Our kids have got to be accountable for their actions,” Bonsall says. “Walter at some time had to realize his mom was not taking care of the paperwork, and he needed to be accountable for that. But not to the point of punishment of being sent down to El Salvador. . . . As everyone here has said, ‘It’s wrong. Plain old wrong.’ ”

I asked Pieklo if he’s sad or angry about things.

“I suppose the word for it is confounded. He’s just such an outstanding person that it’s immensely frustrating to see someone that able nipped off at the bud at a time of opportunity.”

Kovensky says jails or police departments are “are one of our greatest methods of apprehension” for illegal residents. He says the goal remains to question every foreign-born person who winds up in custody to determine their citizenship status.

I could applaud the judge who ordered Hernandez’s deportation if we were ridding ourselves of a punk, a loser or, even, someone who committed a significant crime.

But driving an unregistered car? Not having a license?

Illegal, yes. Deportable, no.

Justice is blind. We usually applaud that.

Sometimes, it can be too blind. Or too deaf.

Can anyone legitimately argue that Hernandez is being sent “home?”

Come Monday, we won’t be putting a case number on that plane.

We’ll put a young man named Walter Hernandez who, according to Pieklo, “is the kind of pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps person that used to be what we’d talk about as the admirable citizen.”

Yes, the Hernandez family blew it on his citizenship.

We as a country apparently can’t forgive that.

As for the CIF ring, the Los Amigos teachers never got a chance to give it to Hernandez.

“You should see it,” Bonsall says. “It’s beautiful.”

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821 or by writing to him at the Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail to [email protected].