I'm a U.S. Citizen and my Wife Was Deported

This week's guest Dream Act guest post is written by Brian, a U.S. citizen, and his mother, Debra.  Visit Dreamactivist.org to find out how you can help pass the Dream Act.

Brian:

I want to tell the story of my wife, through the eyes of my mother. My wife would have been someone who would have been the ideal Dream Act beneficiary. Instead we were harshly deported. My mother's story, below, is a very heartfelt outline of what has happened to us.

Debra:

As I write, my daughter-in-law, Anya is on a plane, headed to the Ukraine, with my only grandchild in her womb. It is difficult to see the words on my computer screen, through the tears that are falling uncontrollably. These tears began a little over two months ago when I first heard that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had issued a final order of deportation for Anya. After appealing to the court for several years to obtain legal status, all of her requests had been denied and she had no further legal options. Now she must leave and is banned from re-entering the U.S. for 10 years.

I cry because Anya is being treated so unfairly. At the age of 13, Anya came to the U.S. ten years ago with her mother. Her mother overstayed her visa. As a young child, Anya was unaware of the fact that she was not following Immigration laws, and would have been incapable of leaving on her own even if she had been aware and understood the laws. So now she is being severely and cruelly punished for actions that were beyond her control.

I cry because this is creating such an emotional and financial hardship for this young couple. My son Brian married Anya in December of 2007. They were excited to learn in January of this year that they will be having a baby (a girl!) in September. At what should be such a joyous time, they are having to deal with leaving behind all their family, friends, jobs, and everything that they have worked so hard for in their lives. This is a very frightening experience because they are being forced to go to a country that neither of them know. Brian cannot speak the language and it will be highly improbable that he can find employment there.

I cry because I am scared for their well being. They will lose their medical insurance, which is much needed not only for the delivery of the baby, but also to cover the enormous medical bills that Brian incurs because of a severe case of Crohn's disease. He needs surgery in the very near future. The U.S. embassy recommends that anyone with health problems not travel to the Ukraine, because of the poor medical facilities. They advise purchasing evacuation insurance in case of needing medical care. Because Anya does not have a passport, traveling to another country to help insure the safe delivery of the baby would not be an option. It is for this reason that she has returned to the Ukraine three months before her deadline. She is hoping that she can get her Ukrainian passport and get to a country that has good medical care before the baby is due.

I cry because this whole situation makes no sense. Anya has done nothing wrong. She was an honor student throughout high school and college. She worked hard to pay her own way through college and received a degree in interior design. Her talent enabled her to quickly secure a job. She paid taxes on her income. She never did anything illegal - not even a parking ticket. The only reason ICE had to deport her was the fact that her mother overstayed her visa. She was hurting no one and contributing greatly to society. Her deportation is devastating to a great many people left behind.

I cry because there are people with the power to destroy other people's lives in our government that have become obsessed with their power and have no compassion. Sirce Elliott, the Assistant Chief Counsel in this case, had the legal power to postpone the deportation until after the birth of the baby. This would have hurt no one and would have helped insure the safe delivery of the baby. When asked if she would show mercy and allow this, she replied that there was no way that she was going to allow that to happen. She had initially agreed to allow 60 days from the final court date for voluntary departure, but when she saw that the judge had set the court date in July, she changed it to 30 days to make sure Anya didn't have the opportunity to have a safe delivery in the U.S. This makes no difference on the citizenship of the child. My son can go to the U.S. Embassy and fill out a form wherever the child is born, and she will be a U.S. citizen. So I can't understand why this lady is being so hateful. Anya has done nothing wrong and has always done everything the courts have instructed her to do. All this will do is perhaps put a poor innocent baby's life in jeopardy if she needs health care that is unavailable.

I cry because I am so reminded of the Nazi party in Germany when I read about the way ICE treats immigrants in the U.S. I used to wonder how the Germans could be so unaware of how the Jews were being treated in their country. Now I understand. Until this happened to our family and I started doing some online research, I was totally unaware of the horrible way immigrants are being treated in the U.S. by ICE. It is shocking to me that humans could treat other humans this way.

I cry because my son feels betrayed by his country. I cry because I have lost the belief that I am fortunate to live in a country that treats people humanely. I cry because the political leaders that we helped elect refused to help. I cry because I've discovered that Anya's case is not unusual. This is happening to thousands of other young people. I cry because there is nothing else I can do for Anya and Brian and my granddaughter.

Although it is too late to be able to help Anya and thousands of other families that have already been torn apart, there was a bill introduced into Congress that would help thousands of other young people in our country in similar situations. It would give young people who came here as children a pathway to become legal residents if they stay in school and stay out of trouble. Without a bill of this nature, thousands of bright, talented young people with much to contribute have little hope for a successful future. Instead they face Anya's fate - being ripped apart from everything that matters to them and sent to a strange land where it will be very difficult to survive. And all because of circumstances that were totally beyond their control.

For more information and to sign the petition which will be sent to your Congressmen, please go to this link.

Please forward this email to everyone you know. Feel free to post it on any social networking sites. Send it to your Congressmen and tell them that you want them to support the Dream Act. The citizens of our country need to be made aware of the terrible injustice and horrible treatment that is happening to thousands of young, innocent, decent, hard-working people who have done nothing wrong.

Tearfully,
Debra Hahn