A six-year-old girl from Poland was held by immigration officers at the Newark airport. Only after hours of intensive effort was she able to reunite with her relatives.

On July 1, grandma took six-year-old Kasia to the Okecie Airport in Warsaw. Kasia boarded a LOT [Polish Airlines] airplane and under a stewardess' care she flew to Newark, New Jersey. She was to be picked up by her aunt and uncle, who live in Northern New Jersey, at the Newark airport. She couldn't wait to see them as well as her dad, who also lives in New Jersey.

Her trip took an unexpected turn, however, when Kasia was held by the U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) officers allegedly because she did not have a visa.

Her 10-year tourist visa was cancelled once the immigration authorities found out that the girl's father overstayed his visa and was in the country illegally. Furthermore, the immigration officers refused to release the girl under the aunt's care (who is a legal U.S. resident) because she did not have proper documentation indicating that she was the girl's primary caregiver.

"One of the immigration officers threatened to take away the aunt's green card if the child's father did not show up at the airport," says Adriana Wos-Mysliwiec, Esq., who first heard about the incident from a third party.

"We can release the child only under the care of the legal guardians," says Mark Medvesky, a public affairs officer at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "In the case when the child's guardians are not available, we place the child at the Office of Refugee Resettlement, an organization providing care for minors aged zero to eight years. Then the child may be placed at a foster family," Medvesky added.

It turned out that the girl was to be sent to a care facility in Texas. Nevertheless, before she was directed there, it was noticed that the girl's skin was covered in a rash that looked like chickenpox and Kasia had to go for medical evaluation. The doctor diagnosed the rash to be chickenpox, in the last stages, and no longer contagious.

"I want to go home. I don't want to be here anymore," Kasia said, exhausted with the ordeal she had to go through.

Meanwhile, her father hired Ms. Wos-Mysliwiec, an immigration lawyer, to represent him and request that Kasia be released under his care. It is unknown where the girl's mother currently resides.

Afraid of being deported, at first the girl's father was hesitant to come to the airport himself to pick up his daughter. When he finally decided to go accompanied by his lawyer, he had tears in his eyes and was beside himself with joy to see his daughter, according to one witness.

"Kasia's father was very relieved to find out he could eventually take the girl home with him. It was a very emotional moment for him," says Wos-Mysliwiec, who was able to arrange the release for the child, on condition that the father would later report to the immigration authorities.

The girl remained at the airport immigration office from 9 p.m. on Thursday until 4:30 p.m. the following day. Because things were happening so fast, her relatives did not seek help from the Polish Consulate General in New York. "I don't think the father was thinking about the consulate then. He was focused on getting her daughter out," said his attorney.

"Immigration officers have from 48 to 72 hours in which to report the case to the consulate. If the girl were not released under the father's care, there would be need for diplomatic intervention," says Piotr Janicki, Polish consul from the department of legal affairs.

While at the airport the girl was looked after by a female immigration officer of Polish descent. "She took good care of her like a mother," says Wos-Mysliwiec.

The family's lawyer made not comment on whether the ICE officers had acted appropriately in Kasia's case. She pointed out, however, that from the legal point of view, the cancellation of her visa should have taken place before the child was issued a boarding pass. There is no doubt the girl became the victim of strict immigration procedures, and was subject to a lot of stress.

"Such situation should inspire other parents to think twice before they send their children overseas," says Wos-Mysliwiec.

The family requested that the name of the girl and relatives not be released.