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Judge: Smuggled Thai boy is HIV positive, will stay in U.S.

Khaisri
Various images of Phanupong Khaisri

July 17, 2000
Web posted at: 6:44 p.m. EDT (2244 GMT)

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- A federal judge confirmed Monday that a 3-year-old Thai boy at the center of a smuggling ring was HIV positive and would remain with his temporary guardian until an asylum hearing could be held.

Judge Dickran Tevrizian said the boy's health was a central factor in his decision because "this kid has gotten every bad break."

Phanupong Khaisri (pah-NEW-pong KY-ree) was allegedly sold into slavery by his mother. His father is dead. The boy was taken from Thailand by slave traffickers as a pawn in their efforts to smuggle people into the United States. He arrived at Los Angeles International Airport in April in the company of two adults, one of whom was a suspected trafficker. The adults were deported, but Khaisri stayed behind because he was running a fever.

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The child's paternal grandparents and the Immigration and Naturalization Service requested that Khaisri be deported back to Thailand, but Tevrizian said the boy must first receive an asylum hearing.

"This child has been dropped on my doorstep," the judge said. "This is not the legal thing to do; it's the humanitarian thing to do."

Tevrizian confirmed for the court that Khaisri was HIV positive and would stay in the U.S. with his current temporary guardian, Chutima Vucharatavintara, until an asylum hearing could occur.

Peter Schey, Khaisri's lawyer, said Monday was a victory for the child. As for whether the paternal grandparents should eventually gain custody of Khaisri, Schey expressed concerns in the courtroom that the paternal grandmother allegedly had a prior drug trafficking conviction.

"We're not going to comment on that," said Dorothea Kraeger, the grandmother's attorney, "other than to say it was a plea agreement. She pled what we'd call nolo contendere. Their system is different, and in her country she has been pardoned."

grandparents
The boy's paternal grandparents requested that he be deported back to Thailand  

Thai Deputy Consul General Nuttavudh Photisaro would not comment on the custody of the child, but said, "as far as the government of Thailand is concerned, whatever is best for the child is best for the government."

He said the Thai government would provide any medical treatment Khaisri needed.

Tevrizian did not set a schedule for the case, saying "there are just too many unanswered questions here."



RELATED STORIES:
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June 28, 2000
Elian's Miami relatives ask Supreme Court to hear their case
June 26, 2000
Massive trial of AIDS vaccine to begin in Thailand
February 10, 1999

RELATED SITES:
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service


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