Judge extends immigration case for boy.

Byline: Jeff Wright The Register-Guard

SPRINGFIELD - Twelve-year-old Kevin Cruz had a good day Tuesday, even before completing his homework or settling down to relax with his video games.

In a brief telephone hearing, U.S. Immigration Judge Michael Bennett of Portland granted a continuance giving Kevin's advocates until Feb. 28 to pursue a special immigration juvenile petition allowing him to stay here rather than be deported to his native El Salvador.

Kevin, a seventh-grader at Briggs Middle School, is praised by his teachers as a top student. He lives with Blanca Berguin, who was awarded temporary guardianship earlier this month.

His biological mother, Antonia Cruz, also of Springfield, is trying to put him up for adoption in hopes that doing so will improve the chances that he can stay in the United States. A furniture finisher who moved to the local area nine years ago, Cruz has protected temporary status but is not a U.S. citizen.

Kevin was stopped at the U.S.-Mexican border two years ago when he tried to enter the country illegally. He previously lived in El Salvador with his grandmother, who has diabetes and can no longer care for him, according to family members.

Kevin's plight was featured in a Register-Guard story Nov. 20. Bennett made note of recent publicity about the case during Tuesday's telephone hearing, said Kevin's lawyer, Raquel Hecht of Eugene.

Bennett had earlier ordered Kevin deported, but reconsidered after an Immigration Board of Appeals said he erred in that ruling. His Tuesday ruling gives Hecht additional time to meet with federal Citizen and Immigration Service officials on an Oct. 5 petition asking that Kevin be allowed to stay in the United States.

Hecht hopes to urge immigration officials to follow the lead of Lane County Juvenile Court Judge Kip Leonard, who approved Kevin's temporary guardianship to Berguin. Leonard ruled it was in Kevin's best interest "to remain in the United States as a ward of the court, or whomever he's placed with," Hecht said.

Ultimately, Kevin could win permanent legal residency, Hecht said. Such action, however, would not allow his mother to seek similar status, Hecht said. It's also unclear whether Kevin could ever be allowed to return to live with his mother, she said. He could potentially qualify for U.S. citizenship after living two years with Berguin, a native of El Salvador and a legal U.S. resident.

Berguin said Tuesday she is encouraged and relieved by the judge's ruling. She said Kevin is adjusting well to his new home life, and that she's eager to get him added to her health insurance coverage so that she can attend to his dental, vision and other medical needs.

CAPTION(S):

Kevin Cruz, 12, is a native of El Salvador and a student at Briggs Middle School. Paul Carter / The Register-Guard Kevin Cruz (right) greets one of his friends before a recent Mass at St. Alice Catholic Church in Springfield.