Mr. President, I wish to express my support for S. 285, a private relief bill for Soptuuchi ``Victor'' Chukwueke. Mr. Chukwueke has a compelling story. He has suffered a serious medical condition,…
Mr. President, I wish to express my support for S. 285, a private relief bill for Soptuuchi ``Victor'' Chukwueke.
Mr. Chukwueke has a compelling story. He has suffered a serious medical condition, was abandoned by his parents, and was brought to the U.S. at a young age. He has endured several surgeries as a result of his serious medical condition, and has overcome many barriers to get where he is today.
Despite his personal story and achievements, members of the Judiciary Committee were informed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement that he was an orphan and had no family in the U.S. or in Nigeria, his home country. We were led to believe that he had no family because that is how he represented himself during interviews with Federal agents. We found out later, however, that he still had a mother and father, and six siblings in Nigeria. Upon learning of this discrepancy, I immediately asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement to clear up these conflicting statements, and to provide any other background information or paper in his files, including interview notes to understand the line of questioning that took place between ICE and Mr. Chukwueke. ICE rejected sharing the file with members of the Judiciary Committee. After weeks of a standstill, ICE agreed to show committee staff what was in his alien file. The file was helpful because we could review interview notes, visa applications, pictures, and other notes on Mr. Chukwueke.
Upon completing the review of the file, committee staff held a conference call with Mr. Chukwueke. During that interview, Mr. Chukwueke stated that he told investigators that he believed he was an orphan and that he had no intention of lying. For the record, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a copy of the sworn affidavit that was provided by Mr. Chukwueke to ICE and to members of the Judiciary committee.
The committee reported S. 285 out of committee on July 19. The committee-reported bill includes a provision that prohibits Mr. Chukwueke from using his status to sponsor immediate family for benefits under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The language in my amendment is identical to language used in other private relief bills. Similar language was included in bills in 1999 and 2000. Senator Levin, the sponsor of this private relief bill, supported the amendment.
We always consider private relief bills on a case-by-case basis. In the case of Mr. Chukwueke, we were told that he did not have parents or family in the U.S. or in Nigeria. It turned out that was not the case. Those statements were inaccurate. He says he did not mean to mislead ICE agents about his family, but the fact is that he did. He did not tell the whole truth.
As I said, in previous private relief bills, we have excluded private bill recipients from sponsoring immediate family members. That is not to say that the family members are barred from ever entering the country. It simply means they cannot use the private bill recipient's special status to provide them a benefit or to gain derivative status.
There are many worthwhile people who want to come or remain in the United States. However, there are bad actors and people who will perpetuate fraud in order to do so. People will go to great lengths to come to the United States. We need to be worried about individuals who will take advantage of our open door policies and manipulate the system to get a benefit. We need to be watchful for potential fraud and abuse of the system.
If S. 285 passes the House and is sent to the President, Mr. Chukwueke may be able to attend medical school in the fall. He has the support of many upstanding individuals, including Senator
Levin. Mr. chukwueke is also supported by a number of people in his community. We received letters of recommendation from Wayne State University and the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy.
I wish Mr. Chukwueke the best of luck in his future endeavors.
Exhibit #1
Affidavit of Sopuruchi Victor Chukwueke
I, Sopuruchi Victor Chukwueke, swear under penalty of
perjury that the following is true and accurate to the best
of my knowledge and belief:
1. My name is Sopuruchi Victor Chukwueke. I write this
statement in support of S.B. 285, a private bill introduced
on my behalf by U.S. Senator Carl Levin.
2. I was born in Nigeria on February 10, 1986. During my
early childhood, I developed a benign tumor caused by
Neurofibromatosis, which grew on my frontal and right facial
area, subsequently resulting in a very significant facial
deformity.
3. My mother took me to different hospitals for treatment
but we were unable to find a facility or surgeon to treat my
condition. At some point, she heard of a Catholic nun called
Rev. Mother Paul Offiah who ran a handicap (orphanage) center
for orphans, abandoned and neglected disabled children. The
name of the center is called St. Vincent de Paul Handicap
Center located in Umuahia, Abia, Nigeria. My mother took me
there, explained the situation to Mother Offiah, and left me.
I do not remember how old I was at that point, but I felt
abandoned.
4. Rev. Mother Paul Offiah took me in, fed and clothed me
and became my sole parental figure, offering both emotional
and financial support. My mother kept in contact with Mother
Paul Offiah and came a few times to visit me at the center. I
spent all my time there and Mother Paul Offiah started making
arrangements for me to come to United States for life-saving
treatment.
5. Dr. Ian Jackson at Providence Hospital in Michigan
agreed to perform the surgery free of charge. Several
generous Nigerians assisted with the effort to raise funds to
that I could travel to the U.S. for treatment.
6. On August 21, 2001, when I was 15, Mother Offiah brought
me to the United States on a B-2 visa and left me in the care
of Sister Immaculata Osueke and other nuns in Lansing,
Michigan. She then went back to Nigeria. I was authorized to
stay in the U.S. until August 29, 2002.
7. My application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status was
rejected twice, because I could not afford the visa fee at
the time. Also, the evidence submitted was signed by a
clinical social worker instead of a licensed physician. The
delay in filing for the third time was in part because I was
having surgery during that time. I had my second major
surgery on January 14, 2003. That period was a very difficult
and stressful time in my life, because I had to prepare for
surgery, undergo the painful surgery and post-operative
recovery, and at the same time worry about my visa status. I
was just 16 years old at the time.
8. In February 2003, my mother and father signed sworn
affidavits to give up their parental rights, so I could be
adopted here in the United States.
9. In November 2003, I began to study for the GED at home
while receiving treatment for Neurofibromatosis. In January
2004, I took the GED and passed it.
10. A few years later, in 2006, Mother Offiah died of a
brain tumor, leaving me with no parental figure in Nigeria
who could provide for and support me with my medical
condition.
11. In May 2006, I enrolled at the Oakland Community
College in Southfield, Michigan. My education was paid for by
a Catholic benefactor, Mr. Jerry Burns.
12. In August 2008, I graduated from Oakland Community
College with an AA in Science and in September 2008, I
transferred to Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan to
pursue a Bachelor's Degree.
13. I had been abandoned by my family in an orphanage in
Nigeria, and I felt I have no one to care for me there,
especially after Mother Paul Offiah passed away. As I grew up
in the United States and received medical treatment for my
condition, I realized that my mother knew she could not
provide for me and so she had entrusted me to the people who
could take care of me. I realized that she had done the right
thing at the time, given the circumstances. So I decided to
reach out to my family again, especially my mother.
14. Sister Immaculata Osueke reached out to other nuns at
the orphanage in Nigeria to get my mother's telephone number,
so that I could try to reconnect with my family.
15. I was chosen to give the commencement speech at the
Wayne State University graduation in 2011. Dr. Kenneth Honn,
my research professor, said that he want to bring my mother
to witness ``her son's graduation.'' He wrote an invitation
letter for my mother to come visit me, but all of the travel
arrangements were done by a Wayne State administrator, Mr.
Christopher Harris. With the help of Dr. Honn, Mr. Harris,
and Senator Levin's letter to the U.S. Consulate in Nigeria,
my mother came to visit me at my graduation from Wayne State
last year. It was the first time I had seen her in more than
ten years. She arrived a few hours before my graduation and
returned to Nigeria on May 16, 2011.
16. Since my arrival in Michigan in 2001, 1 have been in
and out of the hospital, and ahve had seven major surgeries
between 2002 and 2011 to remove the Neurofibromatosis and
reconstruct my face.
17. In November 2011, I applied and was accepted by the
University of Toledo, College of Medicine, conditioned on
receiving lawful permanent residence in the United States on
or before August 1, 2012.
Respectfully submitted,
Sopurucki Victor Chukwueke.
