IN RE DIAZ-OROZCO/OROZCO MINORS
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
In re B and J, Minors.
FOR PUBLICATION
May 13, 2008
9:05 a.m.
No. 279461
Macomb Circuit Court
Family Division
LC No. 2006-000391-NA
In re B and J, Minors.
No. 279462
Macomb Circuit Court
Family Division
LC No. 2006-000391-NA
In re E and A, Minors.
No. 279585
Macomb Circuit Court
Family Division
LC No. 2006-000386-NA
Advance Sheets Version
Before: Jansen, P.J., and Donofrio and Davis, JJ.
JANSEN, P.J.
In these consolidated appeals, respondents Hugo Rene Diaz, also known as Hugo Rene
Dias (Hugo), and Floricelda Orozco (Floricelda) appeal by right the family court’s order
terminating their parental rights to minor children B and J under MCL 712A.19b(3)(g).
Respondent Rosita Orozco-Miranda (Rosita) also appeals by right the family court’s order
terminating her parental rights to minor children E and A under MCL 712A.19b(3)(g). We
reverse.
I. Basic Facts and Procedural History
Hugo and Floricelda were married and are the parents of B and J. Rosita—Floricelda’s
adult daughter—lived with Hugo and Floricelda with her two children, E and A. Hugo,
Floricelda, and Rosita are Guatemalan citizens who were illegally residing in this country. B
was born in Guatemala and is therefore also a Guatemalan citizen. The other three children were
born in the United States. All speak Spanish as their primary language.
In 2005, petitioner Department of Human Services investigated an allegation that Hugo
had sexually abused Rosita’s children. However, the allegation was never substantiated. The
following year, petitioner again investigated alleged abuse by Hugo. The children were removed
from the home in July 2006. Petitioner filed petitions seeking to terminate Hugo’s and Rosita’s
parental rights. The petitions alleged that Hugo had sexually abused one of Rosita’s children and
that Rosita had failed to protect her children from Hugo’s abuse. Petitioner did not seek at that
time to terminate Floricelda’s parental rights, but it did seek to continue the children in protective
custody.
Preliminary hearings were held and the petitions were authorized. The family court
continued temporary protective custody of the children.
A combined trial concerning the parental rights of Hugo and Rosita was held in late 2006.
On the final day of trial, the family court found that petitioner had failed to meet its burden of
establishing statutory grounds for termination of Hugo’s and Rosita’s parental rights by clear and
convincing evidence. However, the court concluded that there was sufficient evidence to take
jurisdiction over the children.1 The court ordered petitioner to prepare a parent-agency
agreement, to allow supervised visitation, and to provide services toward reunification.
Petitioner made meager attempts to provide services and made little effort to locate
Spanish-speaking assistance for respondents. Petitioner also failed to produce the children for at
least two scheduled visits with respondents following the court’s order. Before these issues
could be remedied, however, respondents were detained by United States Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials2 and deported to Guatemala. It is evident from the record
that petitioner, itself, reported respondents to ICE.
At a subsequent hearing in January 2007, the family court observed that such conduct by
petitioner was in bad faith and “morally repugnant.” The court observed that petitioner had been
charged with providing services toward reunification, that respondents had fully and actively
participated in the proceedings, and that respondents had attempted to visit the children despite
petitioner’s failures. Nonetheless, the court noted that respondents were in the country illegally
and therefore subject to deportation.
A permanency planning hearing was held in March 2007, at which time petitioner noted
that it would again seek to terminate parental rights. Thereafter, petitioner filed supplemental
1
It is not clear exactly why the court took jurisdiction over the children. The court’s
adjudicative ruling on the final day of trial could not be transcribed because of technological
difficulties. Nonetheless, it is clear that the court took jurisdiction over all four children, and an
order to this effect is contained in the lower-court file.
2
The investigative and law-enforcement functions of the former Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) have now been transferred to ICE.
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petitions seeking termination of parental rights with respect to all three respondents under MCL
712A.19b(3)(a)(ii), (g), and (j).
In late June 2007, a new dispositional hearing was held concerning the parental rights of
all three respondents. A caseworker from Lutheran Social Services testified that she had called
the Guatemalan embassy and had performed an Internet search for possible services in
Guatemala. But she testified that she had been unable to find any services for respondents in
their native country. The caseworker also testified that she was unable to locate respondents, and
testified that respondents had made no attempt to contact petitioner. It was suggested at the
hearing that B—the oldest of the four children—might know how to contact respondents in
Guatemala. Incredibly, however, the caseworker testified that she had never asked B how to
contact respondents because she had not wanted to upset him by asking him about his family.
The caseworker confirmed that she believed that it had been petitioner’s intention all along to
have respondents deported.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the family court noted that the parent-agency agreement
had been unrealistic and that petitioner should have attempted to provide greater services for the
family. The court found that the requirements for termination under § 19b(3)(a)(ii) had not been
established with respect to any of the respondents, reasoning that respondents’ involuntary
deportation was not a desertion of the children. The court also found that the requirements for
termination under § 19b(3)(j) had not been established with respect to any of the respondents
because petitioner had failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the children would
likely be harmed if returned to their parents. However, the court concluded that the requirements
for termination under § 19b(3)(g) had been sufficiently established with respect to all three
respondents because respondents, who had been deported, were unable to provide proper care
and custody for the children. The court further concluded that the children were in need of
permanency and that termination of parental rights was not clearly contrary to the their best
interests.
II. Standards of Review
We review a family court’s decision to terminate parental rights for clear error. MCR
3.977(J); In re Sours Minors, 459 Mich 624, 633; 593 NW2d 520 (1999). This standard controls
our review of “both the court’s decision that a ground for termination has been proven by clear
and convincing evidence and, where appropriate, the court’s decision regarding the child’s best
interest.” In re Trejo Minors, 462 Mich 341, 356-357; 612 NW2d 407 (2000). A decision is
clearly erroneous when, “although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the
entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made.” In re
JK, 468 Mich 202, 209-210; 661 NW2d 216 (2003). We review de novo questions of
constitutional law. People v LeBlanc, 465 Mich 575, 579; 640 NW2d 246 (2002).
III. Termination of Parental Rights
There is a strong public policy favoring the preservation of the family because the family
unit is deeply rooted in our nation’s history and tradition. Moore v East Cleveland, 431 US 494,
503; 97 S Ct 1932; 52 L Ed 2d 531 (1977). Natural parents have a fundamental liberty interest in
the care, custody, and management of their children, and the state must therefore meet a high
burden before terminating an individual’s parental rights. See Santosky v Kramer, 455 US 745,
753-754; 102 S Ct 1388; 71 L Ed 2d 599 (1982). To terminate parental rights, the family court
must find that at least one of the statutory grounds for termination in MCL 712A.19b(3) has been
established by clear and convincing evidence. In re Fried, 266 Mich App 535, 540-541; 702
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NW2d 192 (2005). The petitioner has the burden of proving the statutory ground. In re Trejo,
supra at 350. “Once a ground for termination is established, the court must issue an order
terminating parental rights unless there exists clear evidence, on the whole record, that
termination is not in the child’s best interests.” Id. at 354; see also MCL 712A.19b(5).
A. Statutory Grounds for Termination
The family court found that petitioner had failed to establish the statutory grounds for
termination contained in §§ 19b(3)(a)(ii)3 and (j) by clear and convincing evidence.
Nonetheless, the court found that petitioner had proven the grounds for termination under
§ 19b(3)(g) by clear and convincing evidence. MCL 712A.19b(3)(g) provides that the family
court may terminate a respondent’s parental rights if it finds by clear and convincing evidence
that “[t]he parent, without regard to intent, fails to provide proper care or custody for the child
and there is no reasonable expectation that the parent will be able to provide proper care and
custody within a reasonable time considering the child’s age.” The court concluded that because
all three respondents had been deported to Guatemala, they were necessarily unable to provide
proper care and custody for the children, and would not be able to do so within a reasonable
time.
Petitioner was not entitled to seek termination of respondents’ parental rights under
§ 19b(3)(g) in this case because petitioner, itself, intentionally set out to create that very ground
for termination. Relying on Logan v Zimmerman Brush Co, 455 US 422, 424; 102 S Ct 1148; 71
L Ed 2d 265 (1982), the Connecticut Supreme Court has held that “a state may not, consistent
with due process of law, create the conditions that will strip an individual of an interest protected
under the due process clause.” In re Valerie D, 223 Conn 492, 534; 613 A2d 748 (1992). Said
another way, the state may not set out with the overt purpose of “virtually assur[ing] the creation
of a ground for termination of parental rights.” See In re Shane P, 58 Conn App 234, 241; 753
A2d 409 (2000). We conclude that when the state deliberately takes action with the purpose of
“virtually assur[ing] the creation of a ground for termination of parental rights,” and then
proceeds to seek termination on that very ground, the state violates the due process rights of the
parent.4
3
We agree with the family court that respondents’ involuntary deportation to Guatemala
did not constitute desertion of the children for purposes of MCL 712A.19b(3)(a)(ii). The
dictionary definitions of the words “desert” and “desertion” indicate that desertion is an
intentional or willful act. See Moore v Prestige Painting, 277 Mich App 437, 448-449; 745
NW2d 816 (2007). Because respondents were involuntarily deported, the family court properly
concluded that they had not “deserted” their children within the meaning of § 19b(3)(a)(ii).
4
We do not in any way diminish the seriousness of respondents’ illegal presence in this
country or question petitioner’s right—and possibly even obligation—to report respondents’
illegal status to ICE. Regardless of petitioner’s right or obligation to report illegal aliens,
however, petitioner still must act fairly. We note for future cases that, even assuming petitioner
has the right and power to report illegal aliens to ICE, it must not do so arbitrarily and
capriciously. “‘[T]he touchstone of due process is protection of the individual against arbitrary
action of government,’“ Sacramento Co v Lewis, 523 US 833, 845; 118 S Ct 1708; 140 L Ed 2d
1043 (1998), quoting Wolff v McDonnell, 418 US 539, 558; 94 S Ct 2963; 41 L Ed 2d 935
(1974), and the substantive due-process guarantee protects individuals against government power
that is arbitrarily and oppressively exercised, Daniels v Williams, 474 US 327, 331-332; 106 S Ct
662; 88 L Ed 2d 662 (1986).
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B. Best Interests of the Children
Even assuming arguendo that the family court properly relied on § 19b(3)(g) to terminate
respondents’ parental rights, we conclude that the family court erred by holding that termination
was not clearly contrary to the children’s best interests. The record establishes that respondents
were bonded with their children and that they did not want to leave the children behind in the
United States at the time of their deportation. Nonetheless, because the family court continued to
exercise jurisdiction over the children, respondents were apparently never given the opportunity
to take the children with them to Guatemala.5
In support of its contention that termination was not contrary to the children’s best
interests, petitioner relies on the fact that respondents did not contact it following entry of the
family court’s order terminating parental rights. We find petitioner’s reliance on this specific
fact to be disingenuous and without merit. As confirmed at oral argument before this Court,
respondents did contact their own counsel, and it is clear that respondents had an ongoing
interest in the lives of their children. It is also perfectly understandable that respondents did not
contact petitioner under the unique circumstances of this case. As noted above, petitioner was
either unwilling or unable to communicate with respondents in Spanish, and petitioner on at least
two occasions had failed to produce the children for visitation with respondents. In light of the
particular facts of this case, respondents’ reluctance to communicate with petitioner did not
constitute evidence that termination was not contrary to the best interests of the children.
Also in support of the contention that termination was not contrary to the children’s best
interests, petitioner relies on the allegations of abuse against Hugo. However, as the family court
found, petitioner failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that any abuse had occurred or
that the children would be harmed if returned to their parents’ custody. It is true that the family
court continued to exercise jurisdiction over the children. But as counsel indicated at oral
argument before this Court, this continued exercise of jurisdiction was based on a finding of
“environmental neglect,” consisting of inadequate sleeping accommodations for the children in
respondents’ home.
Finally, petitioner suggests that termination was not contrary to the children’s best
interests because the children will have a better and more prosperous life in the United States
than in Guatemala. Although petitioner may truly believe that the children would be better
served by remaining in the United States, petitioner’s subjective belief in this regard is certainly
not evidence that termination was not contrary to the children’s best interests. J, E, and A were
born in the United States, are United States citizens, and may well decide to return to this
country upon reaching the age of discretion. Newton, supra at 343; Ayala-Flores, supra at 446.
However, such future decisions are for J, E, and A to make—not for petitioner or the courts.
The evidence in this case showed that termination of respondents’ parental rights would
harm the children and that the children would thereby lose all ties to their native language and
culture. The family court erred by finding that termination of respondents’ parental rights was
5
When an alien-parent’s child is a United States citizen and the child is below the age of
discretion, and if the alien-parent is deported, it is the parent’s decision whether to take the minor
child along or to leave the child in this country. Liu v United States Dep’t of Justice, 13 F3d
1175, 1177 (CA 8, 1994); see also Newton v Immigration & Naturalization Service, 736 F2d
336, 343 (CA 6, 1984); and see Ayala-Flores v Immigration & Naturalization Service, 662 F2d
444, 446 (CA 6, 1981).
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not clearly contrary to the children’s best interests. In re Trejo, supra at 354; see also MCL
712A.19b(5).
IV. Jurisdiction Over the Children
Lastly, we conclude that the family court erred by continuing to exercise jurisdiction over
the children because doing so constituted an improper, de facto termination of respondents’
parental rights. The Due Process Clause “provides heightened protection against government
interference with certain fundamental rights and liberty interests.” Washington v Glucksberg,
521 US 702, 720; 117 S Ct 2258 and 2302; 138 L Ed 2d 772 (1997). The government may not
infringe a fundamental liberty interest unless the infringement is narrowly tailored to serve a
compelling state interest. Id. at 721; Reno v Flores, 507 US 292, 302; 113 S Ct 1439; 123 L Ed
2d 1 (1993). It is undisputed that parents have a fundamental liberty interest in the
companionship, care, custody, and management of their children. Santosky, supra at 753-754; In
re JK, supra at 210. This fundamental liberty interest pertains to citizens and aliens alike
because “the Due Process Clause applies to all ‘persons’ within the United States, including
aliens, whether their presence here is lawful, unlawful, temporary, or permanent.” Zadvydas v
Davis, 533 US 678, 693; 121 S Ct 2491; 150 L Ed 2d 653 (2001).
In order to comply with the guarantees of substantive due process, the state must prove
parental unfitness by “at least clear and convincing evidence” before terminating a respondent’s
parental rights. Santosky, supra at 748. Michigan law fully comports with this requirement,
requiring proof of at least one statutory ground “by clear and convincing evidence” before the
family court may terminate a respondent’s parental rights. MCL 712A.19b(3). In contrast, for
the family court to exercise jurisdiction over a child, “the factfinder must determine by a
preponderance of the evidence that the child comes within the statutory requirements of MCL
712A.2 . . . .” In re S R, 229 Mich App 310, 314; 581 NW2d 291 (1998) (emphasis added); see
also MCR 3.972(C)(1). Therefore, a lower standard applies to the acquisition and exercise of
jurisdiction than to the termination of parental rights.
If the family court had not continued to exercise jurisdiction over the children in this
case, respondents would have been able to take the children with them to Guatemala, Liu, supra
at 1177, and there would have arisen no cause for termination of parental rights. However, the
court’s continued exercise of jurisdiction made it all but certain that respondents would be
permanently separated from their children and that respondents would become unable to provide
proper care and custody. In other words, the family court’s continued exercise of jurisdiction—
based only on a preponderance of the evidence—constituted a de facto termination of
respondents’ parental rights. This de facto termination of parental rights, which was based on
less than clear and convincing evidence of parental unfitness, violated respondents’ substantive
due process rights. Santosky, supra at 748. Under the unique and particular facts of this case,
we conclude that the family court’s continued exercise of jurisdiction over the children was
unconstitutional. Id. The family court’s order assuming jurisdiction over the minor children is
therefore reversed.
V. Conclusion
The termination of respondents’ parental rights is reversed, and the family court’s order
assuming jurisdiction over the minor children is also reversed. Petitioner shall take immediate
steps to reunite the minor children with respondents in Guatemala. MCR 7.216(A)(7); MCR
7.216(A)(9). Petitioner shall fully cooperate with the family court and with respondents’ counsel
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to achieve this objective. MCR 7.216(A)(9). This opinion shall take immediate effect. MCR
7.215(F)(2).
Reversed. We do not retain jurisdiction.
/s/ Kathleen Jansen
/s/ Pat M. Donofrio
/s/ Alton T. Davis
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