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If red tape is Uncle Sam's suspenders, it's giving him a wedgie

By Lisa Lewis
RAW STORY COLUMNIST

FEDERAL WAY, Washington — Two stories appeared on the front page of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer recently that exposed the crazy, constrictive nature of red tape in America. This nutty adhesive, meant to deliver order and consistency, usually strangles those it is supposed to help. Adversely, victims often are not in a position to defend themselves from the choking idiocy of the so-called protection.

Let me tell you about Juliana Martinez Dionicio, a poor migrant farm worker who originated from San Martin Itunyoso, in the highlands of Oaxaca, Mexico. She came to the United States illegally two years ago with her father and sister, to work as migrant farm workers, in hopes of making enough money to repay the debt their family incurred building a home.

On Nov. 14, 2003 in Livingston, Calif., Dionicio gave birth to a baby girl in a dog pen. In the pen, which also contained a leashed dog, dead leaves and dog excrement, Dionicio propped her baby girl against a tree trunk, and for some reason, stuffed tissues into the baby’s mouth.

The elderly woman who owned the dog pen was alerted to trouble by her dog’s barking, and ran across the street to the police station. A police officer and volunteer Spanish translator accompanied the woman back across the street, to find the baby cold and blue, and the mother uncommunicative.

Dionicio is deaf and mute, and could not communicate with the police. Even if she could speak, her family speaks an unusual language called Trique, an ancient, rarely used language. Dionicio was arrested and charged with felony child endangerment, and as the slow, painful communication process began, the lawyers on both sides of the case came to realize that Dionicio was a woman with no language at all. Communication for Dionicio consisted of an extremely limited makeshift sign language that only her father and sister understood. They, in turn, speak only Trique, so a Trique interpreter had to be brought in. The Trique interpreter spoke Spanish, but not English, so a Spanish interpreter had to be used.

This bumpy chain of dialogue was in charge of Dionicio’s fate. Her story slowly unfolded: that she allegedly had been raped. After Dionicio gave birth, she said through the interpreters, the baby was bleeding from the mouth. Dionicio claimed she was trying to stop the bleeding, not harm the baby. Supported by the testimony of an ear, nose and throat specialist brought in by the prosecution team, all charges against Dionicio were dropped on March 30.

Here is where the red tape comes in. When Dionicio faced felony charges, the state had a huge interest in helping her learn sign language, in the name of prosecution. Learning sign language would help deliver Dionicio from the extreme isolation she lives in. With the charges dropped, the state will not be helping Dionicio learn sign language. Furthermore, Dionicio’s child is now a ward of the state of California, and Dionicio’s ability to gain custody of her child is remote. Her family cannot afford to mount a legal battle to try to regain custody; they are illegal aliens.

In May, they are slated to move to Washington to continue their harvesting work. More than likely, Dionicio’s daughter, named Hope by Child Protective Services social workers, will remain in the United States when the Dionicio family returns to Oaxaca.

Now, on the other end of the red tape spectrum are Jose Pedro Mendoza and Mary Mendoza, both U.S. citizens. They met in the Army while stationed in Germany and were married in May 2001. Mary gave birth to their son, J.J., on March 1, 2003, in Germany. The Army hospital in Heidelberg, Germany, was undergoing some construction the day Mary went into labor, and the operating room, which also served as a birthing room, was closed.

The couple was turned away by the military each of them was serving, and had to drive to a German civilian hospital. No one from the Army accompanied them, due to red tape that marks birth as a non-emergency in the military. The hospital staff did not speak English, but realized pretty quickly what they were dealing with, and J.J. was delivered safely.

Two days later, Jose’s battalion was shipped to the Middle East. After recovering from J.J.’s birth, Mary began to travel down the treacherous byways of the red tape highway. Because J.J. was not born in the Army hospital, the U.S. Consulate in Germany would not automatically issue his U.S. birth certificate.

Mary went to Army personnel services for help, and they said that a birth certificate could be granted, but both parents needed to be physically present. Jose was stationed in Iraq, Mary was slated for discharge, and their baby was tangled in a web of stupidity.

J.J. is now 14 months old. He has a German and an international birth certificate. Mary was able to bring JJ to the United States through a military loophole before her honorable discharge. Jose transferred to a different battalion after he returned from Iraq, and is stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash. In January 2004, the Mendozas learned that Jose’s new battalion was being sent to Iraq, ironically, to relieve the battalion he used to be with. He shipped out three weeks ago. The Mendozas both have served their country. Jose will have served in Iraq twice when this nightmare is over. As of today, their son is not a U.S. citizen.

Two families, two babies and dung heaps full of insane rules and regulations, in the name of good intentions. The United States is supposed to give refuge to the cold, the tired, the huddled masses. Instead, the United States is giving these helpless people the shaft. If red tape is Uncle Sam’s suspenders, it is giving him a wedgie. Let’s help Sam out. Use your First Amendment rights to tell him to take off the red tape, so he can pull his drawers out of his ass and think straight.