Deported Man, Getting Day in Court, Asks to Continue Caring for HIV-Stricken Boy

He was one of about half a dozen illegal immigrants caught in a sweep last month in San Juan Capistrano. His plea to them -- that he be allowed to remain in Orange County and care for an HIV-infected boy he had helped raise -- went unheeded, and he was deported.

On Monday, with a one-day visa, Hermenegildo Ortega returned to Orange County to take his case to a Juvenile Court judge. He asked that he be allowed to continue his role as surrogate father and to pay a surprise visit to the 11-year-old boy, who lost his mother to AIDS seven years ago.

By day’s end, Ortega, 36, was emotionally exhausted but hopeful that he will be reunited with the boy, who calls him Papa, as well as the 8-year-old daughter he had with the mother. Ortega had cared for both youngsters until June, when he was deported and the children were sent to Orangewood Children’s Home.

Judge Gary G. Bischoff on Monday recommended to immigration officials that Ortega be allowed to remain in the U.S., to care for the boy and his daughter.

Ortega’s fate will now be decided by the federal officials, who this month rejected his requests to legally stay in the U.S.

Mexican Consul Luis Miguel Ortiz Haro said he will use the judge’s recommendation to help Ortega get humanitarian parole, a designation that would allow him to live in the United States so the boy can receive life-sustaining treatment for HIV. The decision rests with the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The boy’s mother, Carolina Barajas, didn’t know she had AIDS until she became ill, having already given birth to the boy and girl. The diagnosis of the son followed.

After she died, Ortega, Barajas’ boyfriend, became the boy’s legal guardian and lived in the U.S. illegally for more than a decade. Ortega said he was deported in 2002 but reentered illegally again, working as a gardener and security guard, before his second deportation in June after the immigration raids in San Juan Capistrano, which triggered protests.

After his appearance Monday before the judge, Ortega surprised the boy and the daughter, visiting them at Orangewood, where the two were taking classes.

He first saw the girl, with her mop of ink-black hair tied in a ponytail.

“Daddy, I love you really much, please don’t go again,” the 8-year-old said.

The older child spent much of the time sulking, his head between his hands and choking back tears during a restaurant lunch before returning to Orangewood.

“Please stay, please,” he whispered to Ortega as they walked hand in hand to the car. Ortega struggled not to cry himself as he listened to the children’s pleas.

“I’m so happy to see them, but it’s a bittersweet moment,” Ortiz said. “In a few hours, I’ll be gone again.”

On Aug. 6, the Juvenile Court will decide whether Ortega can retain legal custody.