TX Teen Used Fake Name, Deported to Colombia

Jakadrien Turner, the Texas teen deported to Colombia, is returning home this weekend after spending months abroad.

The 15-year-old runaway was referred to U.S. immigration officials earlier this year after she gave police a fake name . The name coincidentally was that of an undocumented 20-year-old Colombian woman.

Her grandmother tracked her down on Facebook and was surprised to learn she was in Bogota.

Turner’s grandmother is understandably mad and wants to know how immigration officials could mistake the teen for an adult. She told MSNBC that Jakadrien Turner clearly looks like a kid. Plus her information was on a website run by the National Center for Missing or Exploited Children.

But the teen maintained the fake identity through deportation proceedings, according to the Los Angeles Times. Officials looked at criminal records and biomarkers, and there was no evidence to invalidate her claims.

Officials with the Colombian consulate were also duped by the Texas teen, notes MSNBC. They issued her travel documents after an in-person interview — even though she doesn’t speak Spanish.

The teen was also set up with housing, psychological counseling and a job once she landed in the country. Her situation was safe despite the fact she is now pregnant.

It doesn’t seem like there was any way to determine that the teen — using a fake identity and without a criminal record — was not who she said she was. Jakadrien Turner was a runaway. She wanted to disappear. If anyone is held legally responsible for the Texas teen’s deportation, it’ll probably be her.

Related Resources:

• Jakadrien Turner, Texas Teen Mistakenly Deported, May Come Home Soon (Huffington Post)
• Deportation & Removal (FindLaw)
• Emily Ruiz, 4, Deported: ‘Anchor Baby’ Debate Ensues (FindLaw’s Law & Daily Life)