SELINSGROVE — A spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday said Dr. Pedro and Salvacion Servano — the Selinsgrove couple who will soon be deported to the Philippines — have been given a fair shake through the immigration court system.
While ICE spokesman Michael Gilhooly wouldn’t discuss the specifics of the Servanos’ pending deportation, he did tell The Daily Item the following:
“The Servanos have had all due process from the immigration court system.”
Meanwhile, relatives remain hopeful the Servanos will be granted a reprieve. Christina DeHaven, a niece of the Servanos who teaches film at New York University, said the family is maintaining its optimism.
“We’re still hopeful regardless,” she said Friday night. “We’re hoping to get word from (U.S.) Senator (Arlen) Spector’s office.”
The Servanos must report to Allenwood Federal Prison Complex on Nov. 23 to begin deportation proceedings. Whether or not they’re spared now rests in the hands of U.S. Sens. Spector and Bob Casey, who could introduce a private bill staying the Servanos’ deportation.
Ms. DeHaven said the Servanos and their lawyers are now in the process of filing for help from both U.S. senators.
The only other person who could prevent the Servanos from being deported to the Philippines — a country they haven’t lived in for decades and in which they have no family — is the director of the Department of Homeland Security.
Ms. DeHaven said: “We appreciate that everyone is concerned for (the Servanos). We just aren’t sure it will guarantee a positive outcome.”
Mr. Gilhooly noted the Servanos likely won’t be detained on Nov. 23. He couldn’t discuss specifics, but said if they are detained at all, it would be at a facility other than Allenwood Federal Prison Complex.
n E-mail comments to dgessel@dailyitem.com.
Dozens offer support
Dozens of people outraged over the scheduled Nov. 23 deportation of Selinsgrove physician Pedro Servano and his wife, Salvacion, have written letters urging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to reconsider. Here’s what they’re saying:
“The mind reels and the heart sinks at the prospect of casting away a couple like Pedro and Salvacion Servano; however, unless justice prevails, after 21 years of valuable contribution, this is what is scheduled to occur on Nov. 23, 2007.”
— Bill Schweigart, U.S. Department of Homeland Security counter-terrorism operative.
“Dr. and Mrs. Servano have lived continuously in the United States for 24 years, and as you will see from Dr. Servano’s employer, he has been a U.S. physician for 15 years and a Geisinger employee for 12 years. Dr. Servano has 2,000 patients under his care and has financial obligations to several local banking institutions. Mrs. Servano has a small business in town. They have two children in high school and all have deep roots to their community.”
— U.S. Rep. Chris Carney,
D-10, of Dimock.
“(Dr. Servano)... is a valuable member of our provider team and of the Selinsgrove community. I strongly encourage you to favorably consider his request to remain in the country permanently. To lose Dr. Servano would seriously impact the care we provide at Geisinger-Selinsgrove, limiting our ability to see patients in a timely fashion, limiting access to our practice for new patients and critically impairing the level of health care that we currently provide in this rural community.”
— Dr. Steven B. Pierdon, chief
medical officer for clinical operations at Geisinger Medical Center.
“Dr. and Mrs. Servano are good citizens to the city of Sunbury and would be the type of citizens we should welcome in the United States. We would be proud to see them gain citizenship.”
— Sunbury Mayor Jesse Woodring.
“For years to come, Nov. 23 will hold a powerful significance for me and my family. How ironic is it that Thanksgiving — an All-American holiday for families across the U.S. — will be followed by the day when my parents will be forced to deport back to their homeland country of the Philippines, which they left more than 20 years ago... My family and I know nothing else but this country; we have together like a chain built a strong foundation fueled by the American dream, and we would not wish to be anywhere else in this world other than together as a family in the United States of America.”
— Shappine Capistrano Servano, Pedro and Salvacion’s eldest
daughter.
Important dates
— 1978 — The mothers of Pedro Servano and Salvacion Capistrano (they are not married at this time) apply for visas for their unwed children to leave the Philippines and come to the United States.
— 1980 — Pedro and Salvacion elope in a remote portion of the Philippines.
— 1982 — Mrs. Servano’s visa is granted, and she travels to the United States.
— 1984 — Dr. Servano follows his wife, arriving in the United States, where the couple settle in Philadelphia.
— 1990 — The Servanos move to San Diego, where they apply for U.S. citizenship and are told where they apply for U.S. citizenship and are told they will be deported because their visas, marked
“single,” were incorrect.
— 1991 — The Servanos lose an immigration appeal.
— 1993 — The Servanos lose a second appeal.
— 2002 — The Servanos’ final appeal — at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals — is denied.
— Oct. 25, 2007 — The Servanos receive two certified letters informing them of the date they will be deported.
— Nov. 23, 2007 — The Servanos must appear at Allenwood Federal Prison to be detained and deported to the Philippines.
News
Related Photos
-
Seth Hoover/The Daily Item
Discussion
Couple without a country
Deporation process will continue
- News
-
-
Buyer: Pine Meadow must be vacated
With only five days to go before a federal public housing contract runs out, Ramon Margary occupies one of two of 100 apartments yet to be vacated at Pine Meadow.
-
Care home's $68G fine in limbo
A hearing was canceled Friday to determine if the president of a corporation, that was convicted of stealing money from a resident of a Selinsgrove personal care home, is liable to pay its $68,000 fine.
-
Group offers weapons against cyber crime
With increased budget pressures forcing more police departments to consider placing every available officer on patrol as much as possible, a nonprofit organization is providing funding to make the case that it makes sense to continue efforts to try to identify sexual predators online.
-
Ex-chief clerk fights to keep lawsuit alive
Kymberley Best, the fired Northumberland County chief clerk, is willing to dismiss one count of her federal lawsuit but opposes a defense motion to dismiss the entire case.
-
Judge sets May trial date for Sandusky abuse case
BELLEFONTE — A judge said today he would decide soon whether to grant former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky greater freedom — and visits from his young grandchildren — while he awaits trial on child sex-abuse charges, but prosecutors countered that Sandusky's home is not a safe place for children.
-
Lewisburg schools face cuts in personnel, programs
LEWISBURG -- Superintendent Mark DiRocco told the Lewisburg school board Thursday night that a proposed block grant system of school budget funding will run the district short of cash that will have to be made up through personnel and program cuts. Lewisburg's proposed 2012-13 budget stands at $28.6 million, with no less but also no more money coming from Harrisburg. "Even a neutral budget is problematic," DiRocco said.
-
Mom: Keller's response left her cold
LEWISBURG -- Like many people, Elise Nicol is concerned about Marcellus Shale and the industry's effects on Pennsylvania's environment. The Lewisburg mother of two cares about it enough that she sent an email to state Rep. Fred Keller, R-85 of Kreamer, asking him to oppose House Bill 1950, which passed the General Assembly on Wednesday.
-
Point Township authority concerned by sewer plant violations
NORTHUMBERLAND -- Point Township Sewer Authority members Thursday night expressed concerns about a Feb. 3 letter sent to the Northumberland Sewer Authority by the state's Department of Environmental Protection saying that the borough authority has violated the Clean Streams Act.
-
Persing truck fee idea stalls
SUNBURY -- While Pennsylvania has passed legislation allowing communities to collect impact fees in 35 counties, Northumberland County is not one of them, and business leaders and lawmakers do not think Sunbury Mayor David Persing's plan to try to do his own version of an impact fee will pass muster.
-
Barber draws a crowd
DANVILLE -- The talk can be spirited at times, ranging from hunting to sports to home repairs. "You hear all kinds of stories," Gene Koehler, of Riverside, said Thursday as he waited for a haircut at The Masters barbershop, 209 Mill St. No appointment is necessary. Customers can just walk in.
-
State board approves table games at Valley Forge casino
VALLEY FORGE — A casino resort scheduled to open this spring in the Philadelphia suburb of Valley Forge has been approved for table games.
-
Doctors telling more adults: Get out and exercise
ATLANTA — A new study shows more and more U.S. adults are being told by their doctor to get off their duffs and exercise. A government survey found nearly 33 percent of adults who saw a doctor in the previous year said they were told to exercise. That was up from about 23 percent in 2000.
- More News Headlines
-
