From staff and wire reports
STATE COLLEGE — An immigrant doctor and his wife who face deportation back to the Philippines because of inconsistencies in their citizenship applications years ago were granted a brief reprieve Tuesday.
Dr. Pedro Servano and his wife, Salvacion, of Selinsgrove, were originally told to report to an immigration facility in Allenwood on Friday. Now, they can report to federal immigration officials Monday in Philadelphia, said Michael Gilhooly, a spokesman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
There was no reason for the change other than to grant the request of the Servanos’ attorney, Mr. Gilhooly said.
The couple won’t be detained or deported Monday. Instead, the administrative process for deportation will begin and the couple will be allowed to return home to Selinsgrove.
“This is just a small reprieve,” Christina DeHaven, the Servanos’ niece and a family spokeswoman, said Tuesday about the weekend-long delay.
Gregg Cotler, one of three attorneys working for the Servanos, said his staff on Tuesday sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security asking for a postponement of the couple’s deportation.
The plan, he said, is to first garner the political muscle to delay the deportation, then hope a congressman or senator will introduce private legislation enabling the Servanos to stay in America permanently.
The office of U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, D-10 of Dimock, on Tuesday released a statement that said his staff has been doing all it can.
“Our director of constituent casework has been in contact with the family, their lawyer and Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” the release stated. “The Servano family has our sympathy for their ordeal, and our office has received a great deal of support from the community.”
Mr. Cotler said he has discussed the Servanos’ situation with U.S. Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey, both of Pennsylvania, and is awaiting a response.
“There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind: If Dr. Servano is deported, 2,000 local patients are going to be impacted,” Mr. Cotler said.
He challenged local leaders to call ICE and ask for a 90-day extension of the Servanos’ deportation.
Meanwhile, an online petition in support of the Servanos has recorded more than 2,600 signatures.
The case has generated a groundswell of support in the Valley.
Friends on Saturday organized a vigil in Sunbury, where the Servanos own two buildings and Mrs. Servano operates a grocery store.
Their difficulties can be traced back to 1978 when, while both were single, their mothers applied for visas for them to come to the United States.
They married in 1980 in the Philippines and two years later, Mrs. Servano’s visa was granted and she left the country. Mr. Servano followed in 1984 after getting his visa, and the couple moved to Philadelphia.
The couple applied for U.S. citizenship while living in San Diego in 1990, but an immigration official noticed during an interview that their visa application listed them as single. They were accused of lying and misrepresenting their marital status, and the legal fight over deportation began, Mr. Cotler said.
Mrs. Servano called the discrepancy an “honest mistake” that was not premeditated.
A deadline on when the Servanos must leave the country has not been set, Mr. Cotler said.
n Damian Gessel, a staff reporter with The Daily Item, contributed to this report.
