Hempfield traffic stop leads to possible deportation (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Hempfield traffic stop leads to possible deportation

By Bob Stiles
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, April 4, 2008

A chef at a new Japanese restaurant in Hempfield has been picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials for possible deportation after a traffic stop in Southwest Greensburg.
Borough police charged Victor Garduno-Silverio, 30, of Allison Park and formerly of Mexico, this week with driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a license. The charges were filed with Greensburg District Judge James Albert.
Garduno-Silverio, who police said works at Robokyo Japanese Steakhouse, was stopped Saturday on South Main Street after police said he was driving with a burned-out headlight.
Garduno-Silverio presented an international driver's license to Patrolman Benjamin Ball, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Ball said that Garduno-Silverio told him that he was in the United States legally. The officer ran a check on Garduno-Silverio's status through the federal immigration agency while processing him on the local charges, court papers indicated.
"Once at city hall, I received a call from Scott Fell of INS, who explained that he would fax a detainer for (Garduno-Silverio) ... and that I was to take (Garduno-Silverio) to the county jail where INS would pick him up," Ball wrote.
Police said INS officials picked up Garduno-Silverio Monday.
Lynn Garduno-Silverio said her husband was in the Cambria County Prison yesterday and that he might be taken to the York County Prison, where a deportation hearing could be scheduled.
She said her husband was in the United States illegally after he fled Mexico City in May 2001 to escape hardships. They met at an Allegheny County steakhouse and were married in 2003 in a ceremony before a district judge, she said.
"He came here to try to make a better life for himself, and he met me," she said.
Lynn Garduno-Silverio said they were in the process of filing paperwork to put her husband on a path to citizenship, but they were experiencing difficulties.
"Since 9/11, it's impossible for somebody if they come here illegally to become an American citizen," she said.
"I just want him home. My kids are so upset not knowing where he is. He's a great person, a great friend, a great listener. He's never hurt anybody."
Roy Bodnar, owner of the Hempfield restaurant, declined comment.
Attempts to speak with someone at the immigration agency were unsuccessful.
Police said the local charges will be withdrawn if Garduno-Silverio is deported.