Happy ending to Gilea case renews faith in our system

Freedom for a Boardman man after a long and harrowing immigration battle must rank as one of the brightest and most heart-warming stories The Vindicator has published this holiday season.

As happy-ending stories go, few are as compelling.

The story of Romanian immigrant Virgil Ciprian “Chip” Gilea demonstrates that justice, reason and compassion can rise to conquer an overly rigid and unyielding federal bureaucracy. Chip’s story also illustrates the enduring power of grassroots activism to effect positive change in our community and in our nation.

About the case

Gilea, 30, a Boardman High School and Youngstown State University graduate, was arrested Dec. 27, 2007, by agents of the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Although charged with no crime, Chip, who emigrated from Romania at 15, was accused of staying in the U.S. longer than he was permitted.

The arrest stemmed from a missed filing deadline for citizenship status by an attorney formerly retained by the family. Chip was ordered to leave the country in 2003, but both he and his family contended he was unaware of the order. After his arrest, Gilea remained behind bars in the custody of Customs for nearly 11 months. Weeks before his freedom, the specter of deportation loomed larger and larger.

That’s when family members and friends of Gilea expanded their ongoing efforts to gain Chip’s freedom into an all-out offensive. That campaign, which stretched from the quiet streets of Boardman to the halls of power in Washington, D.C., aimed to persuade the federal government to give Chip’s case a fair hearing for reconsideration.

As we editorialized on this page last month, the campaign had merit. Gilea has worked for an education, never transgressed the law, owns a home in Austintown, had the respect of his co-workers and the love of his immigrant family in the Valley. He’s the kind of citizen any nation would welcome.

The real threats

A series of oversights and botched paperwork from a former lawyer for the Gilea family did not merit the time, money and resources Immigration and Customs Enforcement invested in the case over the past five years. Those resources could have been much better spent on pursuing illegal immigrants who pose real and serious threats to the security of this nation.

Eventually, the feds saw the light, released Gilea and issued him a visa.

But we suspect ICE did not find compassion on its own. Its actions came only after many individuals, leaders and institutions mobilized aggressively for Chip’s release.

Friends, family members and parishioners at the Gileas’ church flooded the Department of Homeland Security with letters appealing for a new hearing for Chip. The Romanian Embassy in Washington, D.C., lobbied hard for Chip’s case to be treated fairly. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown enlisted as an ally in the cause and appealed for a rehearing.

Additionally, The Vindicator publicized Chip’s plight to a massive audience in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys. Vindicator Staff Writer Denise Dick doggedly pursued the story, maintained constant communications with the family and ICE, and updated developments on it regularly. As she did, the chorus of support for Chip grew louder, more intense and more far reaching. Ultimately, the feds had no choice but to listen and free Gilea.

Although gloom and sadness dominated the protracted Gilea case, its resolution brings with it renewed faith in the American system. Grass-roots activism and the enduring power of the press remain fundamental checks and balances on government excesses of all sizes.

The Vindicator wishes Chip the best as he puts this depressing chapter of his life behind him and begins to focus on the future. We are also proud to have played a role in bringing his story to a just and happy ending.