In 1980, Russian parents of a minor child who was granted asylum by the U.S. filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claiming that grant of asylum to their child was in violation of their due process rights. The parents sought an order vacating the ...
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In 1980, Russian parents of a minor child who was granted asylum by the U.S. filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claiming that grant of asylum to their child was in violation of their due process rights. The parents sought an order vacating the grant of asylum.
The plaintiff parents came to the U.S. from Russia in 1980 with their three children. They decided to return, but two of the children decided to stay with relatives. The parents resisted the younger child Walter's decision to stay and litigation ensued.
Walter became a ward of the state and was removed from his parents' custody by the state trial court. In December 1981, the Illinois Appellate Court reversed the decision of the trial court. In re Polovchak ( Illinois v. Polovchak), 104 Ill.App.3d 203, 59 Ill.Dec. 929, 432 N.E.2d 873 (1981). The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed. In re Polovchak, 97 Ill.2d 212, 73 Ill.Dec. 398, 454 N.E.2d 258 (1983), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 104 S.Ct. 1413, 79 L.Ed.2d 740 (1984).
In the interim, the parents returned to Russia.
In the federal case, on July 17, 1985, the District Court (Judge Thomas R. McMillen) entered summary judgment in favor of the parents, finding that the parents were deprived of their due process rights when the INS granted asylum to their minor child without giving them notice and a hearing. The District Court also entered an injunction prohibiting the enforcement of an INS "departure control order" prohibiting the son's return to the Soviet Union. Polovchak v. Landon, 614 F.Supp. 900 (N.D.Ill. 1985). The government appealed. The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Circuit Judge Cudahy) agreed that the parents were deprived of due process, but vacated the District Court's injunction since it did not take into account the rights of the minor child. Polovchak v. Meese, 774 F.2d 731 (7th Cir. 1985). The minor turned 18 years old shortly after the appellate opinion was issued.
We have no further information on this case.
Dan Dalton - 12/22/2007
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