Sailor Back From Gulf War Weathers INS Storm : Immigration: He could have been deported to Africa as an illegal alien but will be allowed time to have his status changed.

One month ago, Guy M’bouroukounda was among thousands aboard the carrier Ranger who returned to San Diego with their ship and were lauded by government and military leaders for their role in Operation Desert Storm.

But last Thursday, M’bouroukounda, 28 and a 2 1/2-year Navy veteran, learned just how fickle the U.S. government can be. Another federal agency, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, declared M’bouroukounda an illegal alien and promptly arrested him.

INS bureaucrats turned a blind eye to M’bouroukounda’s wartime service and spotless military record. They planned to deport him to his African homeland of Gabon for overstaying a 1988 visitor’s visa.

But that was last week. On Monday, INS spokesman Rudy Murillo said immigration officials had reconsidered their original decision to deport M’bouroukounda and agreed to give him additional time to legalize his immigration status.

He was released from a Border Patrol detention facility in Chula Vista and allowed, for the moment at least, to resume his Navy career as a jet mechanic.

“This was all a big shock to me. When they arrested me and told me they were going to deport me, I saw my Navy career going down the drain,” said M’bouroukounda, who speaks with a noticeable French accent.

According to Murillo, M’bouroukounda was given an “extended voluntary departure,” which theoretically means that he has six months to leave the country. In reality, Murillo said, INS officials hope that he can legalize his status in six months so he can remain in the United States and finish his enlistment.

Gerald Linkon, M’bouroukounda’s attorney, agreed that INS officials displayed “an extraordinary amount of sympathy and support” for his client once they looked at his case.

“The INS was quite sympathetic and humanitarian. He just came back from the Persian Gulf, and eventually that made a difference,” Linkon said. “He wasn’t flouting U.S. laws and he has a commendable military record. They were quite generous when you consider that they could have just as easily put him on a plane and deported him.”

The first step for M’bouroukounda to legalize his status will be to divorce his American wife, whom he has not seen in more than two years, and go through with plans to marry his girlfriend, Mary Lovberg, who is seven months pregnant. Once they are married, Lovberg can sponsor M’bouroukounda for a non-immigrant visa, which will allow him to remain in the United States.

“I am in the process of finalizing my divorce,” M’bouroukounda said in a telephone interview from the couple’s San Diego apartment. “As soon as this is done, this matter will be closed.”

Lovberg said the incident began last Thursday, when M’bouroukounda was summoned by INS officials to the Federal Building, ostensibly because they needed more information for his naturalization petition. He had met with INS officials earlier in the week, and an unsuspecting M’bouroukounda did not know that they were using the need for additional information as a ruse to arrest him because a computer check showed there was an outstanding deportation order for him.

“I had actually applied for citizenship last December and had an appointment with the INS,” M’bouroukounda said. “However, I couldn’t keep that appointment because I went to the war. I told them I would contact them when I got back. I thought a lot about that when I was in the war.”

Navy spokeswoman Cmdr. Sheila Graham said that “the Navy is working with the INS to resolve the problem.” M’bouroukounda credits the Ranger’s executive officer, Cmdr. Mike Cooper, for intervening with the INS on his behalf.

“The XO (executive officer) has been very supportive. I’m thankful for what the Navy is doing for me,” he said.

Although Lovberg said that INS officials told her that M’bouroukounda lied in his enlistment papers about his immigration status, Murillo said immigration officials are still not certain how he was able to enlist.

Under U.S. law, most foreign nationals are not permitted to enlist in the armed services unless they are legal permanent residents. Lovberg said M’bouroukounda told the recruiter that he was not a permanent resident but was still allowed to enlist.

“The truth lies somewhere in between,” Murillo said. “To the best of our knowledge, he didn’t try to lie to the Navy recruiter. It looks like he answered all of the recruiter’s questions truthfully, and the recruiter didn’t dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s. . . . But we really can’t expect a Navy recruiter to be an expert in immigration law.”

Because M’bouroukounda did not resort to fraud to enlist and does not have a criminal record, “the equity is in his favor,” Murillo said. The INS spokesman said that M’bouroukounda’s immigration status could have been legalized years ago if his American wife had petitioned for a non-immigrant visa for him when they married in Washington.

“But there was no petition,” Murillo said. “He’s still eligible for that benefit once his divorce is final and he marries again.”