U.S. Deportation of Marcos-Era Evacuee Delayed

An immigration judge halted the anticipated deportation Wednesday of an Anaheim man in an unusual predicament: Though his family had been granted a haven in America by the U.S. government 20 years ago, the government had ordered him back to the Philippines.

Grant Bondoc and his family were members of the entourage of former Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos, who was evacuated to the United States under the Reagan administration after Marcos was ousted in 1986. Bondoc was 15 at the time.

After Marcos died in 1989 and his widow, Imelda, returned to the Philippines three years later, the U.S. government ordered the remaining members of Marcos’ group to return home.

Bondoc’s bid for asylum was denied in 1999 and deportation proceedings began. His case has worked its way through the immigration courts ever since.

But late Tuesday afternoon, his lawyer, Elif Keles, received notice from Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the government would “like to meet and talk,” and that the agency would not oppose the case being postponed Wednesday.

Addressing Immigration Judge Stephen L. Sholomson in Los Angeles, Theresa Pauling, assistant chief counsel for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, suggested a six-week reprieve to hold talks.

“I’m actually very hopeful now,” said Keles, speaking after the hearing, which lasted less than five minutes. “We were between a rock and a hard place.”

“I am somewhat relieved,” said Bondoc, 34, a medical office manager in Garden Grove. “It’s not as much of a burden as it was before. But it’s still ongoing. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the resolution is going to be to my advantage.”

Bondoc, the son of a former Marcos nurse, has never returned to the Philippines. His mother, Griselda, was admitted to the U.S. with the rest of the Marcos group that included presidential aides, domestic staff and their dependents.

Members of the entourage were allowed to remain in America under a federal immigration provision referred to as “parole status in the public interest,” a humanitarian gesture used at the discretion of the attorney general. A declassified State Department cable from March 1986 assured members of Marcos’ entourage that their status would be “extended indefinitely for those who wish.” But in 1992, the U.S. government ordered the group to leave.

Some managed to obtain legal permanent residency through jobs, marriage to a U.S. citizen or the birth of children here. Others were deported, died or voluntarily went home.

Bondoc’s mother received a green card through her job as a registered nurse and was able to sponsor her husband for permanent residency. Her daughter married an American citizen and is a permanent resident.

Pauling, the government attorney, told Sholomson that she did not yet know how Bondoc’s case might be resolved.

Keles said the options might be to grant Bondoc an indefinite stay under his original parole status, or eventually award him a green card.