A family has finally received some peace of mind after the Trump administration reversed a barbaric decision ending deportation relief for immigrants undergoing medical treatment. Boston’s Sanchez family has received confirmation that 16-year-old Jonathan’s medical deferred action has been extended for another two years.
While public backlash forced officials to retreat on their decision this past September, families and their attorneys said that weeks later they’d still heard nothing from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services about their applications. “None of their clients have received formal approval of their medical deferred action claim since the administration announced it was reinstating this program,” said Rep. Ayanna Pressley. That included the 16-year-old, who has been undergoing treatment for cystic fibrosis for three years now.
In testimony to the House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Jonathan told legislators that when he heard his protections would be ending, he “started crying and said, Mom, I don't want to die, I don't want to die. If I go back to Honduras, I won't survive.’” The boy further said that he “felt so tired, both emotionally and mentally,” adding that "the government is treating me as if my life is not worth the same thing as other people's lives.”
More long weeks of living in limbo would come before the Sanchez family got the long-awaited news they’d been hoping for. "When he first heard the news,” his mom Mariela told WBUR, “he sighed and felt relieved and said, 'Oh great, now we'll be able to sleep.’” The waiting had no doubt taken a toll on the teen, who was unable to attend a roundtable meeting with Rep. Pressley and Sen. Ed Markey the next month because he’d been hospitalized with a lung infection.
"We are very happy because they heard us,” Mariela continued, “and that they are helping us find a solution for our son in terms of health.” But too many other families are still in limbo, the Irish International Immigrant Center cautioned. The Boston group, which sued over the administration's decision, tells WBUR it has gotten decisions on only two of the 19 applications it has submitted to USCIS, including Jonathan’s.
"It's hard because we want to be positive—and I'd like to be optimistic, but we have seen so much from this government that makes us have to question what their actual motives are and whether or not they're being honest,” said said IIIC’s Anthony Marino. That feeling was echoed by Rep. Pressley, who said, "I’m relieved that the Sanchez family is finally able to get the medical resources they need without fear of deportation, but I remain skeptical of this xenophobic administration that continues to stoke fear in Black and Brown people seeking refuge in America."