OUR FAMILIES: JOE AND LINDA



URGENT ACTION: Family at Increased Risk of Deportation and Separation. Community Support Needed!
Joe and Mei's request to re-open their case was recently denied, leaving them with only one remaining legal option - applying for Deferred Action. Deferred Action would effectively defer their deportation orders and can only be granted at the discretion of NY ICE Field Director, Christopher Shanahan.
To show our community support for this family, circulate this Petition among your friends, coworkers, and faith community, and send it to the New Sanctuary office by Monday, 12/7: 239 Thompson Street, NY, NY 10012, or fax #212 995 0844. Thank you!


We Feel Helpless to Protect Our Own Children - Joe

Like many others facing deportation, Linda and I report regularly to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Manhattan's Federal Plaza. A couple months ago, the agent there asked Linda to come back the next time at 8 AM. This was unusual because the office opens at 8:30 AM. She was told not to bring our children with her when she came.

As usual, we were terrified the night before the check-in and couldn't sleep. The next morning, we went to Federal Plaza and saw the same agent was there. When my wife was called into the room, the agent was holding a packet and asked, "Do you have any money?"

Linda sensed that something was going to happen. The agent fingerprinted her. Everything was in order to deport Linda, or at least to detain her. There were seven people moving in and out of the little room. Everyone was staring at her. Linda felt like the air was dead. She was shivering. She was trying to cry, but no voice could come out. Her mind suddenly turned blank, and she felt dizzy. She felt helpless.

An hour later, when they realized that Linda's case was still pending in the federal court of appeals, they released her. For me and my wife, that one hour was like several years. I spent it waiting outside the room with a friend from the New Sanctuary Movement. Linda looked very sick when she finally walked queerly out of the narrow door. Without saying a word, I could tell what she had been suffering.

ICE had everything set and ready; as soon as we had lost our court case, they wanted to take Linda away - leaving her two beautiful children with no mother. Our son Jeffrey is only six-months-old, and he needs constant care. I felt very frustrated that I could not do anything to protect our family. It's like knowing you're about to lose your loved ones, and you cannot do anything to save their lives. Nothing!

We left China for the US about ten years ago, when we were teenagers. We were in search of human rights and the civic values of America that we had never experienced. At the time, we did not know what illegal entry would mean for us, but we have paid for it ever since. I have been fighting my case since I came into this country seeking political asylum. I have thought about it every day for the last ten years. And no matter how hard I try, there seems to be no solution.

A couple years ago, we were driving to Vermont for Christmas. My cousin was speeding, so the police pulled us over. They put my wife and me in immigration detention separately for four months. Our baby daughter was left stranded. Relatives had to come to her rescue.

As parents facing deportation, we feel helpless to protect our own children. Because of China's one-child policy and religious persecution, we could not take our children back with us. We want our children to be well-educated citizens in this great country where they were born. But we don't want them placed into foster care, where kids have often been abused. Nor do we want them to be adopted, because that would mean losing our precious children forever. The Child Citizen Protection Act could help our situation, because it would give judges the discretion to consider the interests of citizen children before removing their parents. We love our children's smiles. We want to see them grow. We want to be in their daily lives. We do not want our family torn apart.

After all, I do not see any reason why they would want to deport a beloved mother. I love my wife. She is a wonderful person and loving parent. We work hard, pay our taxes, and study English to try to establish ourselves and learn American culture. We are productive members of our society. Even though we could not come here legally, we have never committed any crime. Why is it so difficult to be a good parent and good citizen in this country?

Today I am 28. I want to be a good father. I try to raise my children in God's way to be useful and honorable. My daughter is two now, and she is the oldest child. I take her to the playground, even if I am tired. She has a lot of energy. She deserves the best. We do not know how much time we have left. We live in constant fear. We have to live life day-by-day, check-in to check-in.

I represent thousands of families in similar situations. Lawyers tell us to hide until the law changes. They keep saying the laws are going to change any minute now, but I have been hearing those rumors for years. I am standing here today, even though I am afraid, because we have to be brave.

*Joe and Linda gave birth to their third child, little Francesca, in November 2008.