Friday’s Dallas Morning News carries a report by Paul Meyer about another long-term immigrant, this time from Israel, who has been abruptly arrested, locked up at Rolling Plains prison, and scheduled for deportation on Monday.
50-year-old Yosi Taflin is a single parent, father of a 15-year-old American citizen. The high-school aged daughter will be left behind in the care of her maternal grandmother. The American mother of the child “died in November 2004 after a prolonged illness.”
Like other families we have been following, Taflin has a long and honorable record as a USA resident, but immigration authorities have refused to admit him. In Taflin’s case, the objection seems to be based on the fact that he was once caught at a party in Israel where hashish was alleged to be found.
The trigger event for Taflin’s arrest occurred on Jan. 22 when he sought permission to teach his daughter Helena how to drive. He presented his driver’s license to the Texas highway patrol (DPS); they found a warrant for deportation; he was immediately handcuffed and shipped to the Rolling Plains prison.
Helena, whose mother died more than two years ago, went home with a family friend and spent the night alone. Her maternal grandmother arrived the next day from Baltimore to care for her.
On Monday, Taflin is scheduled for deportation to Israel. If there is some way to keep Taflin in Texas, we’re for it. If Taflin’s deportation can’t be stopped, we are in favor of his return, just as we support the return of the Suleiman family who were deported in January with twin children of American citizenship.
Aside from our hopes for individuals and families in these cases, we also hope that this story contributes to media interest in the Rolling Plains prison, where Suzi Hazahza, her sister, two brothers, and father linger in immigration hell.
Here’s the link to “Honesty failing deportee: Listing drug offense sending Plano man back to Israel” (subscription may be required). A search of our archives shows that Meyer has also reported on two other stories of interest here: the Ibrahims and Hazahzas.–gm
Texas Civil Rights Review 