Like I said, a friend of mine was scheduled to be deported at the end of the month if no action was taken. He was granted political asylum about 17 years ago because apparently Guatemala was not a safe place to live and the US grants political asylum to non-US citizens when their home country is unsafe.
I made several phone calls starting with US congressmen and the RI attorney general's office. No one seemed able to help. I searched for a local immigrant advocacy group but was not able to find any. I found a national advocacy group for hispanic immigrants and they said that congressmen and women can not influence a person's immigration status unless it is a question of human rights.
I also contacted the local news station and told the investigator reporter the story. He too was unsure he could help, as immigration law and practices were not familiar to him. He asked me for the phone number for my friend's lawyer and I gave it to him.
I tried calling the lawyer myself and his assistant said he would get back to me. Later that evening my friend called me and said that the lawyer was able to get a 3 month extension. I'm not sure if it was the fact that I called the lawyers office or the news station reporter called his office or just mere coincidence, but they seemed to reach a temporary resolution right after we called him. Perhaps we made a difference that day, even though all the other phone calls appear to have been unfruitful.
On top of maybe making a difference, I learned a lot about how dependent immigrants are on their lawyers to help them through the system. When we think of immigrants, we usually think of illegal immigrants trying to work their way into getting free health-care and taking jobs away from other legal US citizens. There is another side of the story, people here legally that need help and are completely dependent on lawyers to treat them fairly. I wish those individuals luck and hope they are successful in finding a fair lawyer and perhaps a local advocacy group to help them along their path.
1 comments:
Wonderful news, this is so timely to me since I watched a great Documentary on John Lennon on PBS only two days ago and the Immigration challenges he faced were so relevant to the case you mentioned. John lived in fear for a long time as he awaited the outcome of his case for years, starting with a 30-day extension of his visa. 60 days later he was still waiting, then a year passed. It wasn't until 4 years later that he finally got a Green Card, thanks to a Justice on the Supreme Court who was a devoted Beatles fan, and a lawyer who stuck with the case from Day One.
And that's what I need.....a devoted lawyer friend who has a friend like in the higher courts.
Thanks for the update and looking forward to more on this story !
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