Blue Star Chronicles

Danijela Krstic was crowned Miss Oregon in June 2008. Today her father is at risk of being deported for alleged visa fraud. Read about it below and see photos and videos.

Danijela Krstic

Milenko Krstic moved his family to Beaverton, Oregon in 1998. He was a Bosnian Serbian refugee and settled his family in Oregon. Many in the family became American citizens and last June his 24-year-old daughter, Danijela Krstic (her name is often misspelled as Daniela Krstic) was crowned Miss Oregon. She belly danced her way into the hearts of Oregonians and was the first foreign born contestant to win the pageant.

For all intents and purposes, they have every appearance of being an American success story. A war refugee who came to America and has had the opportunity to live the American dream.

Unfortunately, it is more complicated than what it appears to be on the surface, and has been complicated further this week when the U.S. 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the decision of a Portland, Oregon judge to throw out a 2007 indictment against Krstic.

It has been alleged that Krstic lied on visa application in order to get his green card. He is alleged to have served in the Bosnian military and has been accused of war crimes. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia claims that the military unit Krstic served in during the Bosnia war was responsible for murdering muslims near Srebrenica during 1995. A number of Bosnian Serb refugees in the United States, including Krstic’s brother Ostoja Krstic, have come under similar allegations.

His attorney, Christopher Schatz, says that Krstic was a conscripted clerk who was never near Srebrenica during the war, has no knowledge of the mass killings and is not a war criminal.

The United States government alleges that Milenko Krstic, 52-years-old, lied about his military service to get a visa and green card. He applied for permanent residence in 1999.

During the conflict in Bosnia, the International Court of Justice in Europe charged that Bosnian Serbian forces murdered unarmed Muslim prisoners.

The international court concluded that the brigade Krstic belonged to participated in massacres and ethnic cleansing.

Schatz said Krstic before the war gained a reputation as a peacemaker, joining with his Muslim supervisor at a coal mine on a “reconciliation commission” that tried to avert the fighting that broke out in 1992.

A prosecution document said that one mass killing was at a school “in close physical proximity to battalion headquarters where records show that defendant was working at the time.”

Schatz said Krstic is a mining engineer who now works in production operating a lathe.

In 2005, U.S. agents came to Krstic’s home near Beaverton and said he admitted to serving in the military unit but denied committing any crimes.

His daughter, Daniela Krstic, was crowned Miss Oregon in June and on Friday said that she’s confident innocent and justice will be served.

“We don’t know what’s going to come out of all of this, but we know that he is an innocent guy, a good guy. We hope that justice will surface. We have faith in our country, the United States of America. I’m a proud citizen of this country,” Daniela Krstic said.

The federal court of appeals ruling means that the U.S. government may continue the visa fraud prosecution against Milenko Krstic.

If convicted, it is possible that he and members of his family could be deported.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle, Lorie Dankers, said she could not comment on the Krstic case. She said deportation would be a possibility in cases of visa fraud, but family members involved in such cases who could show their immigration benefit was gained independently might not be.

The immigration proceedings would follow the criminal proceedings, which in the Krstic case could be lengthy.

Schatz said the appeals would reach to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

Here is a video of the news story. Below is a video of Danijela Krstic during the Miss Oregon Beauty Contest.

Danijela Krstic - Photos