Immigration agents arrest Marcos nanny
Mary Ann R. Mandap, Nov 03, 2004
A MEMBER of the Marcos “entourage” that fled Manila in 1986 in the wake of the Edsa People Power revolution, was arrested recently by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Teresita Huppanda, nanny to the family of the late Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos, is facing deportation after living in the U.S. for 18 years.

Huppanda, 56, was promised “safe haven” in the U.S. along with the Marcos family and staff by then President Ronald Reagan upon their arrival in Hawaii on Feb. 26, 1986.

Huppanda, who later joined the household of former Marcos security chief Col. Irwin Ver, relied on the U.S. government’s promise and built a life for herself in Sacramento, Calif., for 18 years.

“I thought of the U.S. as my home,” Huppanda said. “I believed the U.S. government when they said I could stay safely in this county. Now I have nothing and no one to return to.” Huppanda educated herself, bought a small home at the outskirts of Sacramento and started a daycare center for low-income neighbors. She later became a cashier at the local Wal-Mart store.

Last month, the U.S. government attempted to deport Huppanda.

Ver said, “It’s a shame that we can no longer rely on the word of the U.S. government. Teresita complied with the order to leave the Philippines, helping the U.S. government maintain a peaceful transition in Philippine leadership.

Now that the U.S. government no longer needs her, they are removing her from the country she has called home for 18 years.” In the aftermath of her arrest, James Mayock, Huppanda’s immigration attorney, has filed an action in the federal district court in San Francisco for a writ of habeas corpus.

“This lady has worked hard to pull herself up by her bootstraps,” Mayock said.
“She stands to lose not only her community and her home, but 18 years of Social Security contributions that she sorely needs. Without the health benefits that her Wal-Mart employment provides, she will be very much at risk in the Philippines.”

Mayock added, “Not only am I worried for Teresita and her future; I also think the credibility of the U.S. government is at stake.”

Former government officials who were part of the tense negotiations at that time agree that this unilateral action by ICE agents will damage U.S. credibility abroad.

Huppanda was released from custody after a hearing was held October 22 at the federal district court in San Francisco.

The next hearing was set for November 4.

Oh well, that's what everybody gets for aligning themselves with Republicans...

that's sad, but then again why didn't you apply for citizenship after all this time

hahahaa ako 14 years na ako ditoy sa US pero naging US citizen ako mnga last year lang hahhaa.

Tsaka mnga kababayan, hehehe Ver ako as in the Ver clan pero wag mo akong patayin ha pleeeeaaaassseeee...Gen. Fabian Ver, uncle ng nanay ko, hahahaha Tsaka lola Ko, Ver rin pero alam nyo ngayon lng alam kasi I saw the last name VER", and I asked my mom hahahha

Same here , were both fil-ams. Though I wanna get dual citizenship, which I can get because I was born in the Pinas.

WAIT Teka,, hahha I want dual citizneship. Did you know when I had to repeat after the guys to become a citizen my mom almost cried cus there a part in there that you have to say " I renounce my alliegance to my previous country blah blah ....

But I wish I can move to the Philippines Its like Ive been waiting to go there for 14 years waaaahhh
ang grabbeeeee

The thing about Dual Citizenship is that you have to go back to Pinas every once an year to re-new you Philippine Citizenship. Oh did you vote in the US elections this year?

I just wonder what law that this person had violated?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
James R. Mayock
Elliot & Mayock LLP, 220 Sansome Street #1200, San Francisco, CA 94111

Direct Telephone: 415-765-5108 [use the rollover function to access cell phone]
Direct Fax: 415-772-8860
E-mail: jmayock@emvisa.com
Web site: www.emvisa.com

Federal District Court Stays Deportation of Marcos Entourage Nanny

San Francisco, CA -- November 30, 2004 - Former “Marcos Entourage” nanny Teresita Huppanda was granted a Stay of Removal by the Federal District Court in San Francisco today. On February 26, 1986, “Miss Tess” was brought the United States on U.S. military aircraft at the request of President Reagan. 18 years later, agents of the Department of Homeland Security took her into custody. On October 20, 2004, 56-year old Miss Tess was locked up in the Yuba County Jail.

Miss Tess has been fighting deportation for twelve years -- trying to enforce America’s forgotten promise that she could stay indefinitely, in return for assisting a peaceful transition of power in her native Philippines. Until today, no court would rule on her claim.

Judge William Alsup concluded: “. . . this order holds that she will be given her day in court on the issue raised, an issue no prior court or agency has been willing to entertain.” A copy of the judge’s order, together with a history of the case, is available at www.SaveMissTess.com.
- more -
Miss Tess accompanied former Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos in his flight from dictatorship to the beaches of Hawaii. President Reagan had promised Marcos and his cronies “safe haven” in America, if only Marcos would relinquish power and permit Cory Aquino to assume the Philippine presidency. Miss Tess, who was hired as a nanny for Marcos’ Security Chief only six weeks before, was abruptly carried off to the U.S.

Once in America, Miss Tess embraced the U.S. government’s promise. “Paroled” repeatedly “in the public interest,” Miss Tess educated herself, bought a small home on the outskirts of Sacramento, and started a daycare center for low-income neighbors. When Tess’ daycare center failed, she became a cashier for Wal-Mart in Rancho Cordova, a short walk from her home and her parish, St. John Vianney.

Her attorney, James Mayock, has sought to prove that the US government offered the members of the Marcos Entourage more than just a temporary presence. A declassified document from March of 1986 states that Ms. Huppanda’s admission “will be extended indefinitely.” Yet the Immigration Service continues its quest to deport her.

Marcos died in Hawaii in 1989; his body was repatriated to the Philippines in 1993. Former First Lady Imelda Marcos returned to the Philippines in 1991, where she became an elected Representative in 1995. Most of the members of the “Marcos Entourage” have died, returned to the Philippines, or become Permanent Residents of the United States. Miss Tess still struggles to hold America to its promise.
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