Family cites Mormon religion in Belgium deportation fight

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — Crystal van der Spec knows how odd it sounds that her family sought asylum after fleeing Belgium. Isn't Belgium a country other people flee to? 

But the Mormon mother of 12 says that a combination of personal

vendetta and religious persecution forced her family to flee the

country in 1997. They came to the United States on tourist visas and

never left.

Now, having exhausted all legal avenues for citizenship, including

seeking help from a U.S. senator, the van der Specs are facing

deportation. They hope community support and a news conference today

will bring attention to their situation, though such appeals typically

have little effect.

Although unable to speak about the specifics of the van der Specs'

case, ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice issued this statement: "These

individuals' immigration cases have undergone exhaustive review by

judges at all levels of our legal system and the courts have

consistently held they do not have a legal basis to remain in the

United States."

The family's flight from Belgium began when, according to Crystal,

her parents and siblings — who were upset that Crystal and her husband,

Dirk, were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints —

filed complaints with a child services agency in their town of Boom in

1997, accusing the van der Specs of abuse and neglect.

The complaint had more traction, Crystal says, because earlier that

year the Belgian Parliamentary Commission on Cults submitted a report