Detroit Free Press, MI
June 8 2008
Valedictorian pleads for help to stay in the U.S.
BY VANESSA COLON ¢ MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS ¢ June 8, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. — Arthur Mkoyan is to graduate Tuesday from Bullard
High School with a 4.0 average. He’s the class valedictorian, and he
has been accepted at the University of California at Davis.
The only problem: He may be deported to Armenia this month.
So on Friday, his last day of high school classes, Arthur, 17, wasn’t
much worried about yearbook photos.
Instead, he was pleading with classmates, friends and teachers to
write letters to Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, encouraging her to
introduce legislation that would enable him and his parents to stay in
the United States.
"Hopefully, they will introduce the bill by the end of next week so
all of us can stay," he said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ordered Arthur and his mother
to leave by late June and return to Armenia, a country Arthur hasn’t
seen since he was 2. His 12-year-old brother, a U.S. citizen, has no
choice but to leave with Arthur and his mother if they’re deported,
the family said.
Seeking asylum since 1992
Arthur’s family fled the former Soviet Union and has been seeking
asylum since 1992.
His father, Ruben Mkoian, ran a general store and worked as a police
officer in the then-Soviet Republic of Armenia, where he was
threatened by former Soviet government workers as the Soviet Union was
breaking up, Arthur’s mother has said.
Mkoian, who spells his name differently than does his son, applied for
asylum but was rejected. He lost an appeal to the U.S. 9th Circuit
Court of Appeals and is being held at a detention center in Arizona.
Feinstein, who has introduced such so-called private bills in the
past, is gathering Arthur’s information to introduce a bill on his
behalf, her Washington office said.
Long shot
If introduced, the bill would halt the deportation. If it passes, he
would receive a green card. But private bills rarely pass, Feinstein’s
office said.
On Thursday, Arthur visited the office of U.S. Rep. George Radanovich,
R-Calif. The congressman sent a letter to Feinstein supporting her
legislation on behalf of Arthur, Radanovich spokesman Spencer Pederson
said Friday.
The letter notes that such a bill was unlikely to pass in the House,
but that previous legislation of this nature has been successful in
the Senate.
On Monday, Radanovich plans to meet with the Armenian ambassador to
the United States to ask that, if deportation can’t be prevented,
Arthur be allowed to apply for a student visa to return to the United
States, Pederson said.
Ara Jabagchourian, an attorney who specializes in civil litigation and
antitrust, offered his services to the family for free.
"My goal is to keep the entire family here," Jabagchourian said.
Arthur, meanwhile, said he’s surprised by the response he’s received.
"The help is much appreciated," he said.