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Morning News

Immigration Case for Thai Boy Sold into Slavery Stalled in L.A.

Aired May 24, 2000 - 10:46 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Another immigration case, this one involving a toddler from Thailand, is now stalled in Los Angeles. A federal judge yesterday refused to handover custody of the child to the Thai Embassy.

CNN's Anne McDermott explains what's behind this current hold-up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNE MCDERMOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pnupong Khaisri (ph) came to this country from Thailand with no family after a terrible journey, like another little boy not so long ago. But unlike Elian Gonzalez, no one is insisting that this child stay in the U.S., only that he be safe.

His life didn't start out that way. His father committed suicide, and Pnupong's mother allegedly sold him to a man who trafficked in slavery. That man was eventually stopped at Los Angeles International Airport with a woman who was believed to be a potential slave, and with Pnupong, who is believed to have been a prop, designed to make the group look like a family.

It didn't work, but neither were any arrests made. Immigration officials said they didn't have enough evidence, but the two adults were deported, and that was to have been the boy's fate, until activists for immigrants' rights stepped in. They convinced a judge to allow him to remain in the U.S. for the next few weeks, during which time the boy would undergo medical tests and the INS continue its investigation of the case.

In the meantime, the boy's paternal grandparents have flown here to be with Pnupong and perhaps eventually take him back home to Thailand. But his U.S. supporters say they want to take it slow, to be sure the grandparents will do a good job. The people Pnupong's been staying with talk about how scared he's been, especially at night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first day he just screaming, screaming.

MCDERMOTT: She and others want to make sure the boy does not wind up back in the hands of traffickers. An immigrants rights' lawyer wonders, what if the couple who brought Pnupong to the U.S. hadn't been found out. PETER SCHEY, CHILD'S ATTORNEY: The fate of that child was very, very uncertain. It would not surprise us if that child then would have disappeared or been killed.

MCDERMOTT: According to a recent CIA report, as many as 50,000 women and children are smuggled into the U.S. each year into slavery. Pnupong escaped, and his friends want to be sure he stays in safe hands.

Anne McDermott, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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