TUSTIN : Man Denied Asylum Stages Hunger Strike

Going on a hunger strike in front of a government building isn’t what most people would choose to do in their free time. But Tustin resident Julian Belmonte is trying to show that he’s different than most folks.

After his request for political asylum was denied earlier this year, Belmonte, 19, decided to go without food for 15 days to protest the decision. He began the hunger strike Friday in front of the Immigration and Naturalization Services building in Los Angeles. He plans to stay outside the building only during business hours, though his hunger strike will be 24 hours a day.

“I would like to show that I would do everything for this country. I’m not afraid of anything,” said Belmonte, who is a waiter. “I just want a chance to show that I really want to be a part of this great nation.”

Since he was a child in Romania, Belmonte, then known as Julian Constantinescu, longed to come to the United States, he said. Finally, two years ago, he arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York and immediately applied for political asylum, citing discrimination against him in Hungary, where he had moved with his mother and sister.

In the meantime, he learned to surf, trap shoot and earned his high school diploma. He tried to enlist in the Marines so he could fight for what he hoped would become his country.

“Here you have the opportunity to advance to higher levels,” said Belmonte, who hopes to go to college. “There . . . you work in a factory all your life.”

Belmonte plans to appeal the decision concerning his asylum. The appeal process could take up to two years, and in the meantime he might get married or get a job that would allow him to remain in the country, said his lawyer, Judith Wood.

Wood said she advised him not to stage the hunger strike.

“He can’t just say ‘I’m special,’ and go on a hunger strike,” Wood said. “I mean the U.S. isn’t just going to say ‘Let’s let in every tall, good-looking guy who goes on a hunger strike.’ ”

But Belmonte would not be swayed. His resolve was strengthened when he went to get permits for his demonstration and was told by a police officer that it was not necessary because the U.S. Constitution gave him that right.

In addition to his hunger strike--for which he is taking off two weeks from his job without pay--he has written letters to elected officials.

Bob Moschorak, Los Angeles district director for the INS, was surprised to learn about the young man on a hunger strike in front of his office Friday afternoon.

“Typically, people who come into INS applying for a wide range of benefits get either a decision they’re very pleased with or one they don’t agree with,” Moschorak said. “But for someone to go on a hunger strike because something didn’t go in their favor is quite unusual.”

But Moschorak said he doesn’t think the demonstration will aid Belmonte’s cause.

“I don’t know if it’s going to change things. I hope it will,” Belmonte said. “I kind of think, what a vacation. I needed one, but not like this.”