OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT - IMMIGRATION REFORM
Dear President Obama,
Hoping upon hope, and with no other recourse, I respectfully request your attention to a personal immigration matter that represents both the detriment caused by a lack of reform and the innermost aspirations of an entire nation. My husband and I, we yearn to be free. We ask for nothing more than to love and to hold, as any life partners should. But currently, we have been denied.
It instilled renewed optimism to believe you when at Selma you said: “change depends on our actions, our attitudes… and if we make such effort, no matter how hard it may seem, laws can be passed, and consciences can be stirred”. As President, you have moved America forward on sustainable healthcare, you have brought the economy back from ruin, you have pioneered social progress and investment in industries that will carry us into the future. Truly an administration for the people, your next actions to pardon and provide clemency will also prove righteous in the eyes of history. These are the reasons I write to you now, in the faith that even an ordinary United States citizen such as myself might be heard in these momentous times. I have been caught in the middle of a broken immigration system. I speak as one of many, affected by partisanship and bureaucracy, hoping only to be reunited with my loved one. This is an appeal for forgiveness and leniency on behalf of my husband (and every other American-at-heart who may live in the shadows) not out of a sense of entitlement, but from the depths of our common humanity. The strength in your compassion will determine my entire life.
As a mixed race child of a middle-class family, who has reaped the benefits of being born into the United States, I can attest to the vision of this country as an unparalleled beacon of freedom, hope, and opportunity. My grandfather served in the Marine Corps during the second World War. My grandmother participated in elected politics at the local and state level for decades. My grandparents on the other side escaped to this country during the rise of Communism, sacrificing everything in order for the next generation to have more. Both my parents are kind, well-educated professionals with solid employment. This country has been immensely good to us. We owe a large measure of our success to those brave Americans who came before to lay the foundation for an open network of enterprise and for fair governance by the people. We each must do our part to preserve this model for others. Growing up, every year when taxes came due, my parents would let us know how lucky we were to be able to contribute so much. I have always seen it as a civic duty to give back to the communities in which we live and to remain engaged in political discussions.
Lately, however, there seems to be too little taking of responsibility and not enough compromise on policy. Certain factions of the Legislative branch have halted movement towards comprehensive immigration solutions. Our outmoded laws only fail further when left untempered by common sense. Actual people are affected when the system is blatantly discriminatory, convoluted to manage, and impossible to uphold in a consistent manner. Almost two years ago my husband was detained by ICE. Never convicted of a crime, either here or abroad, he was ordered removed in absentia for his entry in 2005, and in 2013 summarily forced from my life. I know I am not the only one in this position. Others have suffered as their friends and relatives are torn away and exiled. That is the pressing nature of the need for Immigration Reform. It is not just the quotas and paperwork, but the well-being of entire families at stake. Again, racial history in the United States rears its ugly head as certain constituencies are profiled, stereotyped, marginalized or rejected. Even as they provide crucial services, we turn our backs on the immigrants who harvest our food, take care of our houses, and broaden our ideas of what it means to be an American in the new millennium.
Do we deny those who wish to come, work hard, and repay our society? Despite the efforts of several lawyers, I have been stalled at multiple junctures in the process of bringing my husband back home. Even with long, ongoing documentation of a chronic medical condition, it seems the hardship I am suffering has been outweighed by entry bars and consular discretion. We have pled our case to a Congressional Representative as well as to a Senator but still the time drags on. Every lonely day that goes by, I push myself to the limit to manage my disease and to provide for my husband from afar, yet I feel helpless in the face of an immigration situation I am unable to change.
I know my husband crossed the border without a visa. He never intended to hurt anyone; he was simply grasping at the one opportunity that had come his way to improve his life and make something of himself. When he received an offer to travel with coyotes to the United States, he did not realize the legal ramifications of his actions. By the time my husband Junior fully understood the consequences, we had already met and fallen in love. We lived together for years, and the unconditional support was of marked benefit to my recovery. So in 2011, we filed a FOIA request for his immigration records. It was a difficult moment to learn then: there was a notice out to deport him. I feared for his safety, but nothing we could do at that time would resolve his status and still keep us together. Every lawyer we went to advised us to that effect. Then, in 2013, he was taken into custody. Although we filed again and again, even winning a Stay of Removal, the final decision was suddenly overturned. I haven’t seen my husband in almost seven months now, and it is killing me day by day.
During treatment for Bipolar, I have been through a dozen hospitalizations, extensive outpatient programs and rounds of electroconvulsive therapy. Prolonged episodes have taken me out of school and out of work. Even with the best care of a skilled psychiatrist, I remain vulnerable to symptoms, requiring frequent changes of medication. If my husband is not able to return to me in the United States I will not survive the time apart. Junior is my main source of emotional stability, my best friend, and the one who helps me sleep at night. He is such a hardworking, lovable, loyal man, I could never find anyone to replace him. After enduring the challenge of a severe mental illness, through the constant grace and understanding of my husband, all I can think of is how much potential we would have together if Junior were to return with papers. We could save, buy a home, move forward in our careers and start a business someday. He could do the heavy lifting while I study for a master's degree. We would have a quiet ceremony to renew our vows and we would be grateful for every day of our commitment. But we cannot do any of this without the approval of government officials. We cannot do any of this without your help. Please, by the powers of your office, reconsider the decision of exclusion placed upon my husband and expedite the granting of a medical waiver. Please allow us to pursue our American Dream.
There is so much promised by the founding of this country as a land of immigrants. From every corner of the globe we have come to make our mark and build for a brighter tomorrow together. There is this belief reflected in my own heart when I say, America is already changing. We are awakening to our capacity to lead by example and to listen to the moral compass inside. As a nation we must stand again to wave the banner of justice and equality. May God bless you as you fulfill the remainder of your Presidency. May you continue to lead us forward in actions and consensus decisions we can be proud of. I pray all of us find resolution within these difficult crossroads of either succumbing to apathy or championing the common good. This is our defining moment as a society, when we choose to love each and every fellow neighbor. The balance of history rests upon our courage. The time is now for reform.
Sincerely,
Christin Marie
