Feinstein Bill Seeks U.S. Residency for Teen

NORTHRIDGE —  Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has introduced a bill seeking to grant permanent U.S. residency to Tony Lara, 19, who came from El Salvador as a 10-year-old and grew up here without his parents.

Currently, immigration law bars granting U.S. citizenship to minors from other countries unless their parents are also seeking citizenship, according to Feinstein.

Lara’s mother died in 1990 and his father abandoned him and his sister in 1994.

Lara and his sister remained in the country, living with friends and family members. He eventually became a star wrestler at El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills and now lives with his wrestling coach in Northridge.

“I can think of no one more deserving of permanent residency in this country,” Feinstein said in a statement. “Tony has faced one tragic setback after another. In spite of enormous odds, Tony has become a high school graduate, a California wrestling champion and an inspiration to his community.”

In 1990, Lara and his younger sister, Olga, were brought to the United States by their parents, who were fleeing civil war in El Salvador, according to his attorney, Judy London. Later that year, his mother was deported and drowned while trying to cross the border back into the United States.

London said Lara’s father abandoned him and his sister after turning to drugs. The father was kicked out of the country in 1994 and never contacted his children again.

At age 11, Lara became a surrogate father to his younger sister. The youngsters somehow got by, sometimes living with friends, sometimes with extended family or even strangers, he said.

“I really don’t know how to explain it,” Lara said. “The way I was raised, I knew I had to stay in school and make sure that my sister stayed in school. And was loved.”

The pair eventually drifted to the San Fernando Valley, where Philip and Lynda Bracken invited the children to live with them. The couple later adopted Olga, who has permanent U.S. residency.

Feinstein said the couple could not afford to adopt both children, and Lara went on to live with other friends, going homeless at times.