[quote=briansd1] . . . I would not consider legal proceedings and administrative work a form of public assistance….[/quote]
No, it’s not. The parties usually don’t really want to be there. But the end result is the same … a HUGE drain on state taxpayers and state services.
For example, consider unmarried parents in SD County where one parent is a legal citizen and one is not (VERY common scenario, btw). Lots of people think “anchor babies” are used to help their mothers become legal citizens. They fail to consider that it takes $ to apply for legal citizenship and even MORE $$ to LIVE here as opposed to MX. What about the mother who already owns a house in MX? Why should she move to SD County when her house in MX is free and clear?? The minute she files for child support in SD County, the “citizen dad” is served with papers and fights for 100% custody of the child, even though they may have been sharing the child back and forth across the border since its birth. The dad tells the judge he is afraid the mother will “flee” (lol) across the border with the child and he will never see the child again so makes a plea for “sole” custody, even though he may have never taken care of the child in his life! Do you know how many social workers, child-support workers and court personnel it takes to iron all this mess out??
brian, have you any idea how many cases on the SD Family Ct docket there are with this fact pattern??
Of course, BOTH parents apply for and are successfully granted Superior Ct “fee waivers.” If the child is ordered to have their own “minor’s counsel” during the pendency of the custody litigation, these separate attorneys are paid about $80 per hour by the court, who later “bills” the parents. But practically speaking, if one of the parents disappears back into MX, only to come up for air to pick up their child, how will the court collect from them?
