Editorial: Man without a country

Friday, Aug. 10, 2007 | 7:19 a.m.

T he story of Pedro Guzman is a tale of how tragic the nation's rush to ship off illegal immigrants really is.

Guzman was arrested earlier this year and charged with trespass and spraying graffiti in Lancaster, Calif. Guzman, 29, was given a 120-day sentence, which was reduced to 40 days. Before his time was up, he allegedly told someone he was born in Mexico.

Although he told jailers he was a U.S. citizen when he was booked, and he has a birth certificate to prove it, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department didn't check and turned him over to federal immigration officials, who sent him to Mexico. Just for safe measure, officials had him sign a voluntary deportation order, which Guzman's family said is laughable. They said he cannot read or write and is developmentally disabled.

Guzman wandered in Mexico for 89 days, feeding himself from garbage cans, washing in rivers and avoiding people, his family said. He was taken into custody Sunday trying to cross the border because he missed court hearings - while he was in Mexico.

A big, tragic mistake? No. Not to the federal government.

The Los Angeles Times reported that when it was discovered that he was deported, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a statement that said it only deports people "when all available credible evidence suggests the person is an alien. That process was followed here and ICE has no reason to believe that it improperly removed Pedro Guzman."

On Tuesday a spokeswoman told the Times, "We're confident our standards and procedures were followed correctly."

A U.S. citizen was hauled over the border and the system worked?

Thankfully, a judge let Guzman return to his family, where he is recovering. Guzman's story is a sad lesson, a byproduct, perhaps, of the anti-illegal immigrant fervor: No due process, no rights and no apology. Our nation of immigrants is in real trouble if that is acceptable.