Thursday, November 27, 2008
BOARDMAN — On the 18th anniversary of the family’s arrival in the United States, the Gileas are whole again.
As they gathered for a Thanksgiving Day meal, there was much to be thankful for.
Up until one week ago, it wasn’t certain where Virgil Ciprian “Chip” Gilea, 30, would be spending his Thanksgiving holiday.
Chip, a Romanian immigrant, was released from the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Nov. 21, just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving — which happens to be the anniversary of his parents’ arrival in the country.
Chip spent 11 months behind bars — in Mahoning County, Seneca County and then Maple Heights — due to the family’s former attorney missing a paperwork filing deadline.
An immigration judge ordered Chip’s deportation in 2003, but neither he nor his family knew of the order.
Thursday, Chip said he’s not dwelling on what has happened over the past year, because he is home now.
“We have to move on, and put the past behind and look forward,” said Chip, who came to the country four years after his parents, at 15. “What I’m focusing on now is the future.”
Read more in Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com