Some 200 members of the Alameda Health System joined Oakland community leaders to rally in support of Maria Mendoza-Sanchez, a Highland Hospital nurse and undocumented immigrant who, barring a last-minute intervention, will be deported Tuesday. Mendoza-Sanchez isn’t alone in possibly being torn from her U.S. home of decades. Her husband, Eusebio Sanchez, is also facing deportation. Neither have criminal records. If they are forced to leave, they will be taking their 12-year-old U.S. citizen child with them. Three daughters, the youngest of whom is 16 years old, will stay behind:
At Monday’s demonstration, Mendoza-Sanchez walked slowly to a table set up by union workers with signs denoting their support for the nurse that said, “Hands off Maria!”
“I’m Maria,” she told them, introducing herself before breaking into tears and hugging one of the workers. “I’m really happy to see you guys here. I’m feeling really hopeful.”
Delvecchio Finley, chief executive of Alameda Health System, which operates Highland Hospital, told the crowd that Mendoza-Sanchez had been a “stellar employee” in her two years at the facility.
“We are an organization of caregivers,” Finley said. “So, witnessing this situation befall a member of our community has been extremely difficult for many of her co-workers, managers and executives. And for me personally. AHS values diversity and depends upon people of various backgrounds, many of them, like Maria, immigrants or children of immigrants, to provide care in one of the most ethnically diverse areas of the country.”
“I’m still holding on hope and today is not over yet,” Mendoza-Sanchez said. “I don’t think I will see this as real until I’m ready to board the airplane. While the airplane is not flying, anything can happen.”
As we previously noted, Mendoza-Sanchez and her husband may be torn from their families following a “silent raid,” one of the many disturbing trends following Donald Trump’s inauguration. In the past, undocumented immigrants taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were commonly allowed to return to their families and homes here in the U.S., so long as they checked in regularly, could show they were working and paying taxes, and staying out of trouble.
But in the era of Trump, these immigrants have been arrested or told to prepare for deportation during these once routine check-ins. That’s exactly what happened to this oncology and cardiology nurse and her husband:
The family’s Los Angeles-based attorney, Carl Shusterman, said the case symbolized President Trump’s shift in immigration priorities — namely, that nearly all illegal immigrants are now eligible for deportation.
“As a former (Immigration and Naturalization Service) prosecutor, I am deeply saddened to see a family with three U.S. citizen children and no criminal record being targeted for deportation,” he said.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who met with the family last week after reading a front-page Chronicle story on the case, has called for the government to reverse its decision. The California Democrat said she would introduce a private bill in September to help the family gain permanent residence. However, such bills are rarely signed into law, and it’s unclear if that would help Mendoza-Sanchez and her husband.
“This is a mistake,” Feinstein said outside the family’s home on Thursday. “This shouldn’t happen.”
Other members of Congress have also tried to intervene in this deportation order. Sen. Kamala Harris’ office told the San Francisco Chronicle that they “will continue to work with the family’s attorney to explore all options available to keep this family together. They deserve the opportunity to fully contribute to the country they call home,” while Rep. Barbara Lee said that Trump’s “heartless immigration policies represent a betrayal of our core American values. I condemn this decision.”
It’s a decision that is truly senseless. Instead of focusing resources on combating true dangers to the public—like Nazi and white supremacist terrorism that resulted in a death last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia—the Trump administration is pitting communities against each other while tearing immigrant parents from their children and families. This family and many others have spent years trying to find a path to gain legal status, but no such path exists for undocumented immigrants already here.
“She’s worked so hard to be where she is at now,” said Sarah Norton, a nursing colleague and friend. “It is our job to be there for her—through all of this. We are losing our best nurse and I’m losing a close friend for who knows how long. It’s something that’s hard to swallow.”
Tuesday, Aug 15, 2017 · 6:09:32 PM +00:00
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Gabe Ortiz
According to an update from the San Francisco Chronicle, the family will not be leaving Tuesday, and instead plans to file another stay of deportation request Wednesday:
The flight to Mexico City was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, but the office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein — who met with the family last week after reading a front-page Chronicle story about the case — recommended the couple reschedule their flight for Wednesday, the deadline in the government’s deportation order.
“She promised she would do anything within her power to stop the deportation and I do believe her,” Mendoza-Sanchez said of the California Democrat. “I do believe in her.”
The family is currently in the U.S. as a result of a stay granted by immigration authorities. However, the stay expires Wednesday and the family cannot file another request until then, Mendoza-Sanchez said.
“I will not stop fighting until the very last minute,” she said.