By Todd Dwyer
Special to the Mercury News
Posted:
07/09/2014 10:00:00 AM PDT
The immigration debate is much more than just
a political debate, more than just a news story for our family.
My own 19-year-old daughter-in-law is
incarcerated after she, her mother , her 11-year-old sister and 14-year-old
brother were detained at the border after fleeing imminent death at the hands
of an infamous Mexican drug cartel.
My wife -- an American citizen -- was born in
Aguililla, Michoacán. Fifteen years ago, her three children were stolen by
their biological father after she allowed them to visit him in Mexico. After
seven months, she travelled to Mexico to retrieve her children; the father
surrendered the two girls but kept the son.
As a result, my stepson, Jorge, an American
citizen, grew up in Mexico since the age of seven.
Last year, Jorge married Angelina Medero
Pulido. They and Angelina's family lived in Zitácuaro, Michoacán, where
Angelina's mother ran a clothing store.
Angelina's mother was being extorted by
members of Los Caballeros Templarios Guardia Michoacána, commonly known as the
Knights Templar Cartel. When she refused to pay -- she simply didn't have the
money -- they threatened to kill her entire family, including Jorge, and
"cut Angelina into pieces" and "send her back in a box."
On June 24, Jorge, Angelina, her mother and her
two siblings left their home and all their worldly belongings to seek asylum in
the United States. My 22-year-old stepson eased their fears of crossing the
border: "Don't worry," he naively told them. "I'm an American,
They will treat us differently than everyone else. We'll be okay."As soon as they met U.S. border agents and tried to explain their situation, they were all separated and except for Jorge, who had a U.S. passport, detained.
When Jorge asked agents where they were taking
his wife, the response was "Don't worry about it." When he asked when
he would see his wife again, the response was "Days, weeks, months — maybe
never."
It was then that Jorge called to tell us of
his situation. My wife and I had known nothing of these events. Jorge never
told us about any of it because he didn't want to worry us.
My wife drove for 11 hours straight to the
facility in San Diego to get her son and speak with border officials and to
vouch for Angelina. But nobody would speak to her or divulge any information
whatsoever about Angelina.
The following day -- while my wife was still
in San Diego trying to claim her, to sponsor her -- Angelina was spirited away
from San Diego to a detention facility in Tacoma, Washington. While Angelina's
mother, brother and sister were all released to family members who live in
North Carolina, Angelina remains in captivity.
My daughter-in-law is married to an American.
She is not a terrorist. She is not a criminal. She is not an "alien".
She is a human being fleeing certain death and seeking "Life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness." She did not deserve the kind of treatment that
we usually reserve for al Qaida terrorists.
While the Obama administration wants to speed
up deportations, sending Angelina back to Mexico would be a death sentence. We
want our 19-year-old daughter-in-law home, here, safe with us, where she
belongs. We have sought help from local congressional representatives.
To the flag-waving patriots shouting
"USA! USA!" at detainees inside Homeland Security buses at the San
Diego border, my question is this: What if Angelina were your daughter-in-law?
I would like to remind them all that we are a
nation of immigrants.
Todd Dwyer is a high school teacher who lives
in Santa Clara. His paternal great-grandfather came to this country from
Ireland, fleeing the Great Potato Famine, and his maternal grandmother was
brought here from Sweden as a 2-year-old. He wrote this for this newspaper.
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_26110147/immigration-nightmare-u-s-citizens-wife-whisked-away
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