Immigrant stories cause activists to demand adoption of family waiver

prev
next

LEGAL NEWS PHOTOS BY CYNTHIA PRICE

by Cynthia Price
Legal News

Echoing Tolstoy’s assertion, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” two couples  facing separations due to immigration law toured Michigan last week to tell their poignant stories.

As part of the National Day of Action to Defend Immigrant Families, two local women also living through painful situations joined them for a press conference last Thursday, along with attorneys, activists, and supporters.

Cayla Roberts’ personal narrative is particularly moving because she faces deportation despite the fact her original arrival in the United States was against her will.

Born Jing Lin in China, Roberts was sold by her father to a cartel which trafficked her into the United States. Robert was arrested in San Diego as she entered the country, and spent time at a detention center. When she called her father to tell him she was likely to be deported back to China, he told her that her return would result in her death — “either he would kill me or he would give me a bottle of medicine so I could kill myself,” she remembers,  tears sliding silently out of her eyes.

She went into foster care instead, landing in Grand Haven. As she grew, Roberts excelled in school and as a community member. She graduated with a 4.0 GPA from Grand Rapids Community College (whose Vice President for College Advancement Andy Bowne introduced her at the press conference) and with a 3.97 from Western Michigan University. She gave of her time to such efforts as hurricane relief, vacation Bible school, a senior center, a homeless shelter, and helping children with autism. Along the way she met and married Seth Roberts, an Air Force Veteran.

Cayla Roberts, model student and citizen, now faces deportation.

Though the former Immigration Naturalization Service (now the Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE) could have solved the problem by giving her Special Immigrant Juvenile status decades ago, she was denied that.

ICE has since also denied her consideration under “prosecutorial discretion,” a 2011 initiative to stop the deportation of people who, for example, have been in the country for a long time, were brought to the country at a young age, and/or who have attended college. Prosecutorial discretion is offered only to those who are currently in the deportation process.

Roberts appears to be a perfect candidate, but as of now, only about 7.5% of those applying for prosecutorial discretion have been granted it.

Organizations including the Alliance for Immigrants Right and Reform Michigan, the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, and Justice For Our Neighbors (a Grand Rapids-Holland non-profit that welcomes immigrants into our communities by providing free immigration legal services, education, and advocacy) think this much too low, especially considering the large numbers of deportations taking place (ICE reporting in the neighborhood of 400,000 per year).

After Roberts and Bowne spoke, Jorge and Cindy Garcia, of Highland Park and Grand Rapids, told their story.

Jorge Garcia’s parents brought him into the country when he was a child. He married Cindy, a U.S. citizen, and they have three children. He too is in danger of deportation. The attorney he hired in the Detroit area made errors on the application, and the resulting fees caused them to go into arrears on their home, which they eventually short-sold at a loss.

Garcia can apply for a waiver and visa, but according to the law he is only able to do so in his birthplace of Juarez, Mexico. Once he leaves the U.S., there is no certainty the waiver will be granted, but even if it is, his leaving the country could set off a 10-year prohibition on his return, legislated in the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act.

Natalie Guevara, who formerly worked at the Legal Assistance Center, and a woman identified only as Lindsey bore witness to their own difficulties resulting from the departure of their husbands. Guevara, who singlehandedly takes care of all the young children in their blended family, said, “All the setbacks are incredibly frustrating, and heartbreaking.”

As Grand Rapids immigration attorney Richard Kessler explained, there is a remedy. The Department of Homeland Security, which houses ICE, proposed a rule change this past spring. The “Family Unity Waiver” would allow spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens to begin the waiver application process in the U.S., receiving a decision before they leave for their countries of origin.

While finalization and implementation of the family unity rule will not be comprehensive in addressing laws that split families apart, it is a step in the right direction. The public comment period ended June 1, so advocates are urging swift adoption.

The page found at www.facebook.

com/ReformImmigrationFORAmericaMI contains information on how to receive alerts to affect the rules adoption, as well as a video of Cayla Roberts speaking in Detroit earlier last Thursday.

––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
https://www.legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available