After spending more than two weeks in San Diego Correctional Facility, 19-year-old Salem native Jake Johnston has been released and has returned to his Oregon family after being stopped and detained at the California-Mexico border. Although he had been living in the United States since the second day of his life, Johnston was arrested for having an American citizenship with “no status” due to improper paperwork and his parents’ failure to request their son’s green card.
In 1984, Robert Johnston and his pregnant wife, Margrethe, were living in northern Washington when they had to rush to the nearest hospital in British Columbia, Canada, to deliver their baby. After two days, the couple returned to the United States with their newborn, Jake, but failed to file the correct paperwork when they crossed the border.
More than 19 years later, Jake Johnston paid the price.
On March 24, Johnston was heading back north after spending a few hours in Tijuana, Mexico, during his Southern California spring break. He was asked by border patrol to provide identification and state his place of birth. Johnston gave them his Social Security card and his driver’s license and informed them he was born in Canada. When the officers checked the information, their database revealed Johnston’s citizenship as “no status,” and he was detained until he could be moved to SDCF.
“He wasn’t committing any crime except trying to get home,” said Johnston’s friend, University freshman Jay Rowan.
Since they first heard of Johnston’s detainment, Rowan and University freshman Thomas Maffai have spearheaded local efforts to encourage officials to support his case and help get him released.
“I basically called or e-mailed every representative I could think of,” Rowan said.
After his initial lobbying, Rowan, who’s known Johnston for four years, obtained more than 800 signatures from students on the University campus.
“(They came from) basically, just every person who stopped to hear me out,” he added.
Luckily for the cause, the Salem office of U.S. Representative Darlene Hooley, D-Ore., received one of Rowan’s letters.
“What those students did was important,” said Willy Smith, Hooley’s district director. “Our office gets hundreds of cases a day, and when you see all that support, it makes the case really stand out.”
As soon as he heard of the situation, Smith decided to do what he could for Johnston and, eventually, Hooley made some calls to ensure a fair trial. The congresswoman also contacted Johnston’s school, Chemeketa Community College in Salem, to ask the president to “go easy on him” when Johnston returned to his classes late in the term.
Smith also urged immigration officials to track down the original officer who allowed the Johnston to cross the border 19 years ago. It was discovered that in 1987, three years after Johnston was born, the immigration officer assigned Johnston’s case to a fellow employee for investigation, but that person failed to follow through and the paperwork remained incomplete, Rowan said.
On Monday, Margrethe Johnston received a letter from the retired officer who said he felt immigration should have started the paperwork when newborn Johnston and his parents first crossed the border. She also received notice that her son was set for a hearing the next day.
On Tuesday, Johnston’s parents and his lawyer flew to San Diego for the hearing. At 1 p.m., Johnston attended a 10-minute hearing, which concluded with his release after his lawyer moved for the action. Johnston was released on his own recognizance at 8 p.m., by which time his father and lawyer had returned to Oregon. Margrethe Johnston and Jake Johnston arrived in Portland at about 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Johnston is now in Salem awaiting information on his trial and on the paperwork being done at the Portland immigration office, Margrethe Johnston said.
After Margrethe Johnston took 10 days off work to travel and support her son’s case, she declared bankruptcy, Rowan said. In order to help the Johnston family take care of the financial hardship the ordeal has caused, Susan Maffai, the mother of Johnston’s friend, established the Jake Johnston Fund at Klamath First Federal bank, located at 948 S.W. Ninth St., Redmond, Ore., 97756. Contributions will be used mostly for Johnston’s legal expenses, including his $225-per-hour lawyer.
“I think it’s pretty amazing,” Margrethe Johnston said. “In the beginning, I was hoping we wouldn’t have to (establish a fund), but now I am very grateful.”
Margrethe said she is more than optimistic about the Portland trial because Johnston received an indefinite parole, meaning the issue should be resolved quickly.
“It’s just a matter of paperwork,” she said.