Stop tearing immigrant mothers apart from their children

By Leena Khandwala | The Progressive Media Project


... One client of mine from Honduras came to work as a waitress in New Jersey, hoping to create a better life for her infant son she left behind. She was forced to work at a bar where she had to "entertain" patrons and allow them to sexually molest her on a daily basis. She was granted a T-visa, which allows victims of trafficking to remain here in exchange for assisting law enforcement in prosecuting the traffickers. She immediately petitioned for her son's visa and provided the original government-issued birth certificate and a baptismal record for her son. Still her petition was denied.

Another client, a severely traumatized torture survivor from Cameroon, has been waiting for nearly six years to be reunited with her children. She was persecuted and tortured by the government for her AIDS advocacy work and was also violently abused by her husband, a policeman. As she fled for her life, she was forced to leave her seven children behind in Cameroon.

After being granted asylum in 2003, she immediately applied for visas for them. She submitted original birth certificates, as well as DNA evidence to establish her biological relationship with four of her seven children since she could not afford the testing for all of her children. One of her sons was able to join her in 2006. But the applications for the remaining six remain in indefinite limbo. She is forced to rely on family friends to take care of her children, and sends back every cent she saves to Cameroon.

The right to family unity is deeply enshrined in American law and tradition. The Supreme Court has long protected the integrity of the family unit and the right of parents to raise their children. This principal has also been prioritized in U.S. immigration law, for good reason. According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, "The family unit has a better chance of successfully ... integrating in a new country rather than individual refugees. Keeping the family together, therefore, is in the best interests of the refugees as well as the receiving country" ...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/67780.html

voluntarily left their children. Failing to accomodate immigrants, especially illegal ones, by not re-uniting them with their families is NOT "tearing them apart". That's a deeply dishonest misrepresentation.