Orphaned Boy Could Be Deported

A 14-year-old Reseda boy whose parents were killed in a weekend traffic accident is facing possible deportation to Guatemala.

Bryan Mendoza, his parents and an aunt came to the U.S. from Guatemala eight months ago on tourist visas that have expired, Guatemalan officials said Tuesday.

Los Angeles police said Bryan’s parents were struck and killed by a truck about 9 p.m. Sunday as they jaywalked across Riverside Drive near Fashion Square Sherman Oaks. The driver was not cited, police said.

Relatives said Santos Mendoza, 41, and Floridalma Estrada, 38, were custodial workers earning a combined yearly salary of $15,000. They were trying to catch a bus after work when they were hit, police said. Now Bryan, who shared a Reseda apartment with his parents and his aunt, Glenda Gomez, 23, may be unable to stay in Los Angeles, authorities said. He does not have any relatives in the U.S. who are legal residents.

Representatives of the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service said they usually cannot pair an undocumented, orphaned minor with a guardian who is also an illegal immigrant.

“Regrettably ... there is a chance that he might face deportation,” said Francisco Arcaute of the INS, though he added that his office had not yet fully reviewed the matter.

Bryan said his parents came to Los Angeles to offer him a better life--and he has taken advantage of the opportunities here. He said he plays on a youth soccer team and has been working on his English skills in summer school, getting ready for his freshman year at Reseda High School.

“I’ve made a lot of friends,” he said. “My family would have wanted me to stay here.”

At a news conference Tuesday, Guatemalan Consul General Fernando Castillo said he would provide Gomez with legal assistance to try to keep Bryan in this country.

Arcaute said the case is unusual for immigration officials because often they are able to match orphaned children with at least one adult relative who is legally living in the U.S. If Bryan is deported, the INS will look for a capable guardian to pair him with in his home country, Arcaute said.

Bryan said he has a grandmother and a 21-year-old sister in Guatemala, but that Los Angeles has become his home.

On Monday evening, about 30 players, coaches and parents from the North Valley Soccer Lions Boca Junior crowded into the family’s one-bedroom apartment to offer their condolences.

Assistant coach Delia Sandoval said Bryan “is the heart of the team.”

The Los Angeles City Council passed a motion Tuesday to give pedestrians a better way to cross Riverside Drive. Along with improvements to an existing crosswalk, it calls for a Department of Transportation study to determine if additional improvements are needed, such as a traffic signal.

“It’s a very long block and there are no stop signs or streetlights,” said Matt Szabo, spokesman for Councilwoman Wendy Greuel. “The crosswalk is very hard to see.... It’s almost impossible to get across.”