I made this petition to make sure that my daughter and similar families like mine have the possibility to fight for their lives. This issue affects US Citizens, families of US immigrants, and/or immigrants with special needs through out the United States of America. We need a change now! Please sign and share with others!
It is difficult to protect vulnerable families like mine. We are not popular, we have a lot of needs and we use time and funds from Congress and Senate leaders as they try to make themselves accountable to their constituents. Today we find ourselves desperate to find immigration solutions and lawmakers priorities are based on relevance. Here is a story on how Lawmakers definition of “relevance” can support vulnerable families.
We never saw ourselves begging for help. Throughout our lives me and my wife have chosen to educate ourselves, follow the rule of law, eat healthy,… you name it! All of our decisions were initially derived to live “under the radar” in what most of the society calls a “normal life”. Today we found ourselves shouting and imploring for support to anyone that can help.
Our profile is rapidly described as follows: two US Citizen girls (our daughters) and Ecuadorian parents. One of our girls is currently a Multivisceral Transplant Candidate for liver, pancreas and small intestine. To support our family and survive in the United States of America we have gone through a series of visas and ultimately when we did not had enough money to sustain a privately funded project we landed in our current status: DEFERRED ACTION (MEDICAL DEFERRED ACTION).
It is not DACA; however it seems to be part of a similar defined group were USCIS officials decide our fate based on specific criteria. According to USCIS, the Deferred Action Program is ” a discretionary determination to defer a removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion”[1]. The first time I read such definition I wondered: “did I do something wrong?”, “why is the government holding from deporting us?”, “does that mean we could get deported if we do not get our Deferred Actions approved?”, “can I work?”, “can we travel?”.
The first time we applied for Deferred Action we where not able to work for one and a half years. Remember, we have a daughter that requires to have daily infusions and constant medical support. We survived by the mercy and grace of our family in Ecuador. But, how long can a family like ours survive until we have depleted our families resources in Ecuador as well? After waiting for 1.5 years we were given a work permit for 6 months. Why? Because it was backdated from the day we applied for Deferred Action. Thus, the government expects that we sustain our sick girl by allowing us (parents) to work for 6 months in a period of 2 years? Ultimately, the horror story became terrifying when in 2019 the Administration in charge contemplated to terminate the program that allowed our daughter to survive. We were told we might have to go back to Ecuador. As a desperate measure I booked the first flight to Washington D.C. My hope was to share my story with as many Congressmen and Congresswomen as I could before the House Committee of Oversight and Reform would open a hearing on “The Administration’s Decision to Deport Critically Ill Children” . Sympathetically, members of Congress exposed my case as shown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM7EJdZMqmM .
That day (October 30, 2019) I learned the following: there are approximately 900 people with my current discretionary disposition. However, if we see at the beginning of the hearing (approximately min 10 of the video) ( https://www.c-span.org/video/?465780-1/deporting-critically-ill-immigrant-children ) there is an example where a Congress Representative reveals to what I believe are his views on relevance. In my opinion he viewed the topic of such hearing (“The Administration’s Decision to Deport Critically Ill Children”) to be a less relevant topic based on other problematics being presented at the time. To my recollection, he emphasizes the immigration crisis in the southern border of the United States, which is indeed a relevant topic, but doesn’t make the situation faced by these 900 families less relevant. There is always going to be a major crisis. In fact, on March 15, 2022 when I was writing this document, there is a brutal crisis in Europe and the World when Russia decided to occupy and attack Ukraine. Yes, another crisis and a very RELEVANT topic. So, when is there going to be time for Senators and Congress Representatives to discuss a problematic of 900 people with my current discretionary disposition?
After a lot of thought I found myself thinking if I just landed in an empty and dark spiral hole determined to ultimately destroy me and my family. I wont give up; but this is my reality: I do not know if I would be able to work in the next 6 months. If I loose my job, my US CITIZEN daughter’s life is at risk. As I have mentioned before, my daughter is currently a transplant candidate and requires significant attention. There are just a handful of hospitals in the United States to care for my daughter. Not only that, if I do not have a work permit my family is not eligible for health insurance and my daughter will not be transplant candidate anymore. We keep ourselves thankful to this world but we can not travel outside the United States to visit our family in Ecuador because Deferred Action does not grant that “luxury”. If I have a job and it requires to travel I can not take that job. If I loose my work permit and I need to travel to another state I also loose the possibility to drive a car because I can not get a drivers license. As a result, I can not mobilize my family to buy groceries, get my daughters to the doctor, find medical attention for my daughter who is currently a transplant candidate, etc. And the problems continue to pile on and on. Is DEFERRED ACTION a solution or a slow death penalty for vulnerable people that can not scream?
While Congress and the Senate are defining relevant topics to discuss in their agendas, my two daughters keep on growing. Soon they are going to be 18 years old and their formal “development” would had culminated. They are US CITIZENS but their childhood freedom has been limited to that of their parents reality of a Deferred Action determination! So how do we make this topic relevant?
On March 15, 2022 the Senator from Washington State communicated on Twitter that the Senate approved the “SUNSHINE PROTECTION ACT”. The benefits of this program could be questioned by various groups but ultimately such actions will definitely support millions of individuals in the United States of America. Based on the course of events in the present days, Senator’s Murray’s project could be considered lower priority; however it has an intrinsic added value! Assuming the quantifiable unit sum could be outweighed by another legislation, the fact that the spirit of the legislation was to assist Americans lives in a positive fashion makes it relevant. And if Legislators continue to support constructive programs and laws that ultimately intend to promote the well being of targeted groups, the benefits will continue to extend. In addition, I am sure Senator Patty Murray and Senator Marco Rubio are proud of scratching the project from the TO DO LIST. DONE!
In our case we are of a group of 900 individuals that can create change in the world. Legislation to support us will save people lives; including my daughter that is a US CITIZEN. We (as a family) and all families like mine are committed to working for the best of this country. We love USA because it is the country that has allowed my daughter to continue to live and dream for a better future! To any legislator who is reading this. What are we waiting for! Let’s work on crossing this project out of the TO DO LIST.
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS:
Julia, is a U.S. Citizen, has become eligible for the life-saving transplant she needs. This has transformed Julia’s life prospects but only if we (parents) are allowed to legally stay in the United States. We have been legally present through out this time in the USA. I’ve consulted with numerous immigration attorneys and they have reached the same conclusion: we need an opportunity to present our case in front of an Immigration Judge. Specifically, to become eligible to apply for a “Cancellation of Removal” we must first establish a hearing before an Immigration Judge. Unfortunately there is no precedent to be heard by a judge unless I commit a crime (break the law). We can not and will not proceed with a path that involves breaking the law; however, USCIS or ICE can voluntarily add us to DEPORTATION PROCEEDINGS so that we can be eligible for CANCELATION OF REMOVAL. Could you please help us open the door to schedule such a hearing?
RELEVANT ARTICLES:
https://nicolasjespinosa.com/2022/03/15/scratchit/
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-immigration-ailing-migrants-deportations-trump-20191030-7mwk62bqgbaxhkwdgnfo6b3fcu-story.html
[1]https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/consideration-of-deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals-daca/frequently-asked-questions
[2]https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/pages/attachments/2015/07/24/eoir42b.pdf
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