Illegal Immigrant Detained in Police Raid May Lose Custody of Son

By Sarah Harper

Published on April 30, 2009

Missouri courts are determining the custody status of Encarnacion Bail Romero, illegal immigrant to the United States and mother of two-year-old Carlos. Her trans- national custody battle highlights issues related to immigration, state child welfare, and child custody laws.

Romero came to the United States from Guatemala in 2005, and Carlos was born a year later. In 2007, immigration police raided the Missouri chicken processing plant in which Romero worked, and they detained Romero. Carlos, 6 months old at the time, was sent to stay with relatives. A year and a half later, county courts terminated Romero's parental rights on grounds of child abandonment. The judge granted custody to an American couple that had privately petitioned the court, in accordance with Missouri law. Romero did not want Carlos placed for adoption. Romero's lawyer alleges that language barriers prevented Romero from adequately understanding the adoption process. He also claims she was not given sufficient legal representation in time to recover custody. Meanwhile, the adoptive parents' lawyer argues that Romero did not send financial support or contact the child during her incarceration.

Immigration authorities suspended her deportation order to allow Romero to file suit to recover custody.

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