14-year-old missing African-American girl who spoke no Spanish was mistakenly deported to Colombia after giving police a fake name

[Jenna]

Turner has been searching for Jakadrien since the fall of 2010, when she ran away from home. She was 14 years old and distraught over the loss of her grandfather and her parents’ divorce.

Turner said with the help of Dallas Police, she found her granddaughter in the most unexpected place - Colombia.

Where she had mistakenly been deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in April of 2011.

News 8 learned that Jakadrien somehow ended up in Houston, where she was arrested by Houston police for theft. She gave Houston police a fake name. When police in Houston ran that name, it belonged to a 22-year-old illegal immigrant from Colombia, who had warrants for her arrest.

So ICE officials stepped in.

News 8 has learned ICE took the girl's fingerprints, but somehow didn't confirm her identity and deported her to Colombia, where the Colombian government gave her a work card and released her.

"She talked about how they had her working in this big house cleaning all day, and how tired she was," Turner said.

Through her granddaughter’s Facebook messages, Turner says she tracked Jakadrian down.

U.S. Federal authorities got an address. U.S. Embassy officials in Colombia asked police to pick her up.

But that was a month ago, and the Colombian government now has her in a detention facility and won't release her, despite her family's request.

There are still many unanswered questions about how an African-American girl who speaks no Spanish is mistaken for a foreign national. Immigration officials are investigating and released a statement late Tuesday.

More here: Dallas teen missing since 2010 was mistakenly deported | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth

[Pudge]

As my grandfather would say, "Bet ya don't pull that bullshit again!".


Seriously though, although she's a child, I'm having a hard time feeling sorry for her. Maybe I'm just a jerk.

[Willowdared]

I can answer those questions.

1. There are black people in Latin America...they have the same history of using slave labor as the US (not to mention displacing the native populations)

2. There are plenty of illegal immigrants that speak no Spanish, they were brought over as children, and they get deported even though they don't speak Spanish.

3. She had opportunities to give her real name and be returned to her family, she chose to lie, and must have stuck to that lie.

[Rhino]

Seriously though, although she's a child, I'm having a hard time feeling sorry for her. Maybe I'm just a jerk.

Me, too. But I know I'm a jerk.

[Xiphos]

I can answer those questions.

1. There are black people in Latin America...they have the same history of using slave labor as the US (not to mention displacing the native populations)

2. There are plenty of illegal immigrants that speak no Spanish, they were brought over as children, and they get deported even though they don't speak Spanish.

3. She had opportunities to give her real name and be returned to her family, she chose to lie, and must have stuck to that lie.

We have a winner!

[Ducky]

Bet her home life doesn't seem so bad now, does it?

[Captain America]

Bet her home life doesn't seem so bad now, does it?

Sí

[Standard Dave]

Moral of the story don't lie to the police about your name

[adroitcuffs]

As my grandfather would say, "Bet ya don't pull that bullshit again!".


Seriously though, although she's a child, I'm having a hard time feeling sorry for her. Maybe I'm just a jerk.

Yeah, I'm not feeling sympathy for her either. She may be a minor but is definitely old enough to know the difference between right and wrong. She chose wrong and reaped the consequences.

[Cidp24]

All she had to do is holler "WHOA, WAIT.. WAIT, I was LYING!!! My real name is ____ my real address is ____ and you can call my granny. She'll tell you!!

Oh, what a tangled web we weave....

[JLK]

Yall are being a bunch of non-feeling jerks. She can’t help that she lied to the police. How can she be accountable for her actions. She has had a hard time.












What a bunch of bovine scatology. Life is full of choices. The decisions have consequences. Deal with it or die from it. Poor little girl she had to work and was tired.

[kjlaw]

Story is not only did she lie to the Police about her true name, but she also spoke to the Columbia consulate and convinced them that she was who she said she was.

[lewisipso]

scatology

Hahaha! He said scatology.

[HudsonHawk]

OK so she was deported in April 2011, and the grandparents realized where she was in December 2011... from her Facebook posts. She was also reportedly dating someone down there and is now pregnant. It sounds like she was enjoying herself!

The only thing I see wrong is that her fingerprints were taken. Were there no prints on file, just a Name/DOB for the illegal with warrants? If they could have confirmed the identity and failed to do so, then I bet the family will walk away with some taxpayer money.

[bayern]

SEND HER BACK!!!!!

[Jenna]

Update:

A U.S. immigration official -- who was not able to speak for attribution, because the investigation is ongoing -- said that that the girl then known as Tika Cortez waived her right to an immigration attorney and did not fight deportation proceedings.
According to U.S. immigration officials, they'd never come across anyone by the name Tika Cortez. Her fingerprints did not match anyone in law enforcement databases, nor was there a match for the name Jakadrien Turner. And the background check "revealed no information to invalidate her claims," the officials said.
Colombian government officials then interviewed Jakadrien and issued her the needed travel documents and "full Colombian citizenship," according to the U.S. immigration officials.

She and members of Jakadrien's family say that various internet postings they discovered show that two Colombian men befriended the runaway teenager and they spent a lot of time together during her time in Houston.
"So you think it's a coincidence she came up with a Colombian name and said she was from Colombia?" said Ames. "Otherwise she is absolutely the smartest, most creative 15-year-old child I know of. I can't wrap my brain around the idea that she did this all on her own."
After arriving in Colombia, a Facebook page and Twitter feed arose tied to someone using her adopted moniker, Tika Cortez. If the postings were indeed written by the runaway teen, they offer a glimpse into the tormented troubles of a lost teenager.
The writer claims to be from Bridgetown, Barbados, and studied at Texas Southern University, neither of which are true of Jakadrien Turner. The writings also indicate that their author spent some time working in a telephone call center and as a maid in Bogota.
But the most dominant theme of the Facebook posts, which went up between June and November of last year, is that the person identified as Tika Cortez is "BORED AS HELL." The writer also talks about smoking marijuana and being part of tortured and volatile relationships.
A couple of times, the writer references her life back in the United States including:
-- On May 25: "back home in Colombia got deported. .. really missed everyone in Houston..."
-- On August 12: "well was in jail, now I'm free man am still feel like I'm loke up in this country..."
-- And on June 30: "I'm having to many problems in mi life, just found out I can't even go bak to the states in another 5 years..."
Only once does the writer appear to cryptically allude to the journey that landed her in Colombia. That came on a July 28 Facebook post that reads, "I'm f**king tired I just want a f**king time machine, and rewind all the bull**it I did wrong man OMG.. I'm never going to be happy here."
The tone is far different in a more recent post from October, one month before Colombian authorities took Jakadrien into custody. It includes a series of pictures uploaded under the banner, "familia, me happy 4 once in the mountains."

More here: The harrowing journey of the girl who called herself Tika Cortez - CNN.com

[Xiphos]

Sounds like she was looking for a free ride to Columbia and made no effort to avoid it.

[pgg]

[Jks9199]

As my grandfather would say, "Bet ya don't pull that bullshit again!".


Seriously though, although she's a child, I'm having a hard time feeling sorry for her. Maybe I'm just a jerk.

That's OK, I feel the same way. She lied about who she was. She got caught -- and maintained that lie. Somewhere along the way, you'd think she had a few opportunities to give her real name and get sent home.