Minnesota

American couple stranded in Brazil facing 'bureaucratic nightmare' after newborn son arrives months early

Published

2 years ago

May 20, 2024

American couple stranded in Brazil facing 'bureaucratic nightmare' after newborn son arrives months early

A Minnesota couple in the midst of a “bureaucratic nightmare” amid a months-long stay in Brazil, where paperwork issues regarding their newborn son have prevented them from returning to the United States, is one step closer to being able to leave.

Chris and Cheri Phillips, of Cambridge, located 50 miles north of Minneapolis, visited the South American nation in February for what was supposed to be a two-week trip. The couple consulted with doctors before leaving and were encouraged to travel, as Cheri Phillips’ due date was not until June 2.

Chris, who has a young daughter who lives in Brazil with her mother, visits the country at least three times each year. His wife usually accompanies him on at least one of those trips, they said.

KELLY OSBOURNE WILL NEVER ‘FORGIVE’ BOYFRIEND OVER ‘BIGGEST FIGHT’ ABOUT SON’S NAME

Greyson Phillips in his crib. Greyson was born in Brazil several months early. (Chris Phillips)

On March 8, two days before they were slated to return home, Cheri Phillips began bleeding, and they went to the hospital. Several days later, Greyson Phillips was born through C-section. He spent 51 days in a neonatal intensive care unit before being discharged to his parents on May 3.

“While his health track has gone overall quite well, we are still stuck in a bureaucratic nightmare with regards to Brazilian documentation and American documentation,” Chris Phillips told Fox News Digital from the AirBnb where the family is staying in the coastal city of Florianópolis. “The only reason we can’t bring him home is because he doesn’t have a Brazilian birth certificate, and we can’t get him his American passport until he’s got that birth certificate.”

Despite the fight for their son’s life, the fight to get him to the U.S. has proven to be an unexpected challenge. To leave the country, they needed a passport for Greyson, which requires a birth certificate. However, the local registry office, called a cartorio, refused to issue one because the passports for Chris and Cheri Phillips do not have the names of their parents on them, which is required in Brazil, they said.

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Cheri and Chris Phillips with their newborn son Greyson Phillips following his premature birth in Brazil. (Chris Phillips)

Loved ones back in Minnesota sent the couple their individual birth certificates containing their parents’ names and their marriage license. A court translator said the documents would still be denied because they lack an apostille, a little-known provision that certifies a document to be recognized by member nations of the 1961 Hague Convention, Chris Phillips said.

As their plight caught the attention of the Brazilian media, the cartorio “had a change of heart” and issued Greyson’s birth certificate. The agency blamed the holdup on an employee who refused to comply with the request, Chris Phillips said over the weekend.

“No acknowledgement of wrongdoing. No admission of ignorance regarding a law of which they should have been fully aware,” he said in a statement. “No apology for the 2+ months of unnecessary stress and mental anguish they had caused for Cheri and me.”

“Supposedly, as we were told by somebody here, Brazil had passed a law in 2023 that excludes foreigners from needing to present official documents with apostles that contain a child’s grandparents’ names in order to process their Brazilian birth certificate,” he said in a statement.

Getting American documentation was equally difficult. Getting the proper paperwork required Greyson’s birth certificate and a trip to a U.S. consulate or embassy. The nearest facility is some 300 miles away in an area that has been heavily impacted by flooding.

Additionally, the newborn doesn’t fit in a car seat, so driving was out of the question, Chris Phillips said. The couple contracted a local lawyer, but the court process has been slowed to a halt, likening the infant to a child without a country, they said.

“He (Greyson) does not exist officially on paper yet in any system,” Chris Phillips said last week. “He has not officially been registered as they say in Brazil.”

The couple also reached out to Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., for help to cut some of the red tape.

“He (Greyson) does not exist officially on paper yet in any system.”
— Chris Phillips
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Cheri Phillips seen being discharged from a Brazilian hospital after giving birth to Greyson Phillips. (Chris Phillips)

“I can only imagine the incredible stress that this family has had to endure, both in giving birth unexpectedly in Brazil and then having to overcome bureaucratic hurdles to come home,” Smith said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “After calling on the Embassy in Brasilia to do more to help the family, we received the news that they will provide extra service to ensure the family does not have to travel to get a U.S. passport.”

As of Sunday, the couple was working with the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia to produce a passport for the son.

“We will not begin to feel truly comfortable until we have that passport in hand. To be clear, we still have a long road ahead of us. But, at long last, at least we can see it,” Chris said.

Aside from the stress of trying to navigate Brazil’s legal system, the Phillips have had to deal with the mental and financial ramifications of their predicament.

“I don’t speak Portuguese and not a lot of people here speak English,” said Cheri Phillips, a first-time mother. “It’s incredibly taxing to go through childbirth and having a child in the hospital when you can’t directly talk to their care team.”

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Greyson Phillips sits in a crib at the Brazilian hospital, left, and is with his mother, Cheri Phillips. (Chris Phillips)

The family has had to stay in several Airbnb properties, forcing them to move each time their reservation ends. Additionally, they have had to extend the contract for their rental car and adjust their flight home, which can come with significant costs. Their health insurance provider has so far covered their medical expense claims, Chris Phillips said.

Chris, a photographer and video producer for a pediatric health provider, has been working remotely, and Cheri will return to work virtually on a part-time basis next week.

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“Getting him home, that’s the goal now,” he said. “By birth, he’s is a Brazilian citizen. Being born to Americans, he has a right to be an American citizen, which he will be.”

“By birth, he’s is a Brazilian citizen. Being born to Americans, he has a right to be an American citizen, which he will be.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment.

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Minnesota

Minnesota man accused in a $250M fraud scheme taken into custody in Somalia | CNN

Published

3 hours ago

June 27, 2026

Press Room

Minnesota man accused in a 0M fraud scheme taken into custody in Somalia | CNN

AP —

Authorities say a Minnesota man charged with helping to orchestrate a $250 million fraud scheme has been taken into custody in Somalia.

Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 42, of Burnsville, Minnesota, was taken into custody Thursday in Mogadishu, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said in a news release. Court documents do not show if Eidleh has obtained an attorney, and he has not yet had an opportunity to enter a plea in the case.

Eidleh is one of dozens of people who were indicted in 2022 in connection with what prosecutors said was a massive scheme to defraud a federal meals program.

According to court documents, Eidleh was an employee of Feeding Our Future, an organization that claimed it helped provide millions of meals to children in need during the pandemic under a federal child nutrition program. But prosecutors say just a small portion of the federal money went toward feeding kids, with the rest laundered through shell companies and spent on property, luxury cars and travel.

Eidleh is accused of creating fake child nutrition program sites, falsely claiming they were feeding thousands of children a day and creating shell companies that purported to be meal vendors at the sites. The indictment charges him with 31 counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering.

Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division said Eidleh was a central figure in “one of the largest fraud schemes in Minnesota history.”

“He not only stole taxpayer dollars, but he also robbed vulnerable children of critical resources they desperately needed. Rather than answer for his crimes in the United States, he fled to Somalia in a futile attempt to evade justice,” McDonald said.

President Donald Trump pointed to the fraud case as part of his justification for launching a massive immigration crackdown in Minnesota late last year.

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Minnesota

Minnesota primary voting starts for major 2026 races

Published

13 hours ago

June 26, 2026

Press Room

Minnesota primary voting starts for major 2026 races

Madison McVan
| Minnesota Reformer

Early voting for Minnesota’s 2026 primary elections began on Friday, 46 days ahead of the official Aug. 11 election.
Voters will decide on nominees for governor, an open U.S. Senate seat, and all state legislative positions.
Minnesotans can vote absentee by mail or in person at designated early voting locations.

Voting in Minnesota’s 2026 primary elections began Friday morning, 46 days before the official Aug. 11 Primary Election Day.

Minnesotans confront a hugely important midterm election in the fall, when all constitutional offices, an open U.S. Senate seat, a highly competitive congressional district and the Legislature will be on the ballot. Control of both state government and Congress are at stake.

Before then, however, the parties will choose their nominees in a bevy of competitive races that will shape the fall election.

We don’t have party registration in Minnesota, which means anyone can vote in the primary.

Following the sweep of a progressive slate in several New York primaries this week, political analysts will be closely watching voters’ preferences, which will set the stage for the second half of President Donald Trump’s second term.

Here’s what you need to know.

Which races are on the ballot in Minnesota?

Every Minnesota citizen will have the opportunity to vote for statewide offices including governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, auditor and U.S. Senator.

For this primary election, you can only vote for candidates from one political party. Your ballot will have Democrats on one column, and Republicans on the other. Choose one! If you vote for candidates from more than one political party, your votes will not count. You decide when you vote which one of the parties you will vote for.

The governor’s race is wide open for the first time since 2018, when Gov. Tim Walz won his first term. Walz initially announced he would run for a third term before ending his campaign in early January following Republican attacks on his record on stopping fraud in Minnesota’s social safety net programs.

The Senate seat is open following Sen. Tina Smith’s retirement announcement last year. Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is running for governor, still occupies the other Senate seat. (If Klobuchar were to win the governor’s race and resign her Senate seat, she would appoint a successor to hold the position until a special election.)

The entire state Legislature is up for reelection in 2026, but not every race has a competitive primary.

Voters may see other local races on their ballots, including county commissioners, county attorneys and school board members.

You can use this tool from the Secretary of State’s Office to preview your ballot.

How do I vote in Minnesota?

Friday, June 26, is the first day of absentee voting. You can request an absentee ballot be mailed to you, which you can return in-person or through the mail.

Alternatively, you can vote “in person absentee” by going to your local early voting location, where you can request your absentee ballot, receive it, fill it out and submit it on the spot.

Starting July 24, you can vote in-person at the early voting locations in a process similar to that of voting on Election Day.

Who’s running in Minnesota?

There are several competitive primaries in statewide races that will determine the matchups in the general election later this year.

For governor, Sen. Amy Klobuchar is expected to win the Democratic-Farmer-Labor nomination after winning the party’s endorsement on the first ballot, over a challenge from Kobey Lane, a 26-year old trans activist and former Republican legislative assistant.

The Republican primary is competitive; after Army veteran and former health care executive Kendall Qualls won the party’s endorsement in May, the other front-runners refused to drop out of the race, citing voting irregularities at the convention. House Speaker Lisa Demuth and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell round out the three-way race.

In the race to replace Smith in the Senate, two Democratic powerhouses are facing off: U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. Flanagan won the endorsement after Craig dropped out of the endorsement process; Craig is gunning for votes outside of the party’s activist base.

On the Republican side, GOP-endorsed former Navy Seal Adam Schwarze will face off against former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya, whose name recognition and well-financed campaign could boost her performance in a primary.

With Craig’s highly competitive south metro seat in the U.S. House coming open, three top-tier Democrats are vying to replace her: former state Sen. Matt Little, state Rep. Kaela Berg and state Sen. Matt Klein. State Sen. Eric Pratt is running unopposed for the Republican nomination.

Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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Minnesota

Children’s Minnesota doctor warns of Benadryl challenge dangers

Published

23 hours ago

June 26, 2026

Press Room

Children’s Minnesota doctor warns of Benadryl challenge dangers

Updated on: June 25, 2026 / 10:46 PM CDT
/ CBS Minnesota

A dangerous social media trend is circulating online, and Minnesota health experts are warning parents it involves allergy medication.

Doctors say the so-called Benadryl challenge involves teens taking large amounts of the medication and record themselves as the effects kick in.

“Our goal here at Children’s Minnesota is if a trend causes any sort of physical harm or mental harm to make sure that we’re taking care of our patients,” said Dr. Nita Gupta, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Children’s Minnesota.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, the trend first gained attention in 2020 when there were 184 reported cases tied to intentional misuse of the allergy medication. Cases continued to rise the years but dipped in 2024 and then more than doubled in 2025, reaching nearly 400 cases. Most of the cases involved teens ages 15 to 19.

Dr. Gupta believes the main draw is the hallucinogen aspect of it, but says there are so many other negative consequences that can happen.

Health experts say the allergy medication can become dangerous when taken in large doses. Symptoms can escalate quickly and may include agitation, blurred vision, seizures and in severe cases, death.

“The second the parent knows that their child consumed this is a reason to come in or at least call poison control, don’t even wait for the symptoms to start,” Dr. Gupta said.

Experts say the resurgence of this dangerous challenge shows how quickly trends can return, and they urge parents to talk to their children about what they are seeing online.

Dr. Gupta believes early conversations at home may help prevent serious injury.

The Minnesota Regional Poison Center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for anyone with questions. The organization’s phone number is 1-800-222-1222.

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