Breakthrough went “live from jail” and interviewed several long time permanent U.S residents who face possible deportation because of unfair 1996 immigration laws. The three we interviewed will most likely be sent back to countries they haven’t seen since they were very young. As one says, “this is a nightmare that I’ve not been able to wake up from.”
Here are their stories:
Mehdi H. Namini Mehdi H. Namini was born in Iran, but sees himself as an American. He’s been living here for almost 30 years. In 1998, Mehdi ran into financial difficulties with his business and, with the advice of an ill-informed lawyer, pled guilty. After serving his time, he was released and thought the worst was over. But because of the government’s crack down on immigrants and his prior “guilty plea,” nine years later “immigration officers” picked him up for the same 1998 offense. Now, Mehdi sits in detention, unsure if he will have to return to a country that is not his home — all because of bad advice and unfair laws.
*Monica
Monica is a legal permanent resident, born in Bolivia, but has been in the U.S. since the age of three. She was a good student and daughter, but fell in with the wrong crowd. After paying the price for a drug charge she moved on with her life. But on returning to the U.S. after a family vacation, she was detained for the same prior drug charge. She is currently in detention, and fears that she will be ripped from her family and friends in the U.S. and sent to Bolivia.
*Carla
Mehdi H. Namini Mehdi H. Namini was born in Iran, but sees himself as an American. He’s been living here for almost 30 years. In 1998, Mehdi ran into financial difficulties with his business and, with the advice of an ill-informed lawyer, pled guilty. After serving his time, he was released and thought the worst was over. But because of the government’s crack down on immigrants and his prior “guilty plea,” nine years later “immigration officers” picked him up for the same 1998 offense. Now, Mehdi sits in detention, unsure if he will have to return to a country that is not his home — all because of bad advice and unfair laws.
*Monica
Monica is a legal permanent resident, born in Bolivia, but has been in the U.S. since the age of three. She was a good student and daughter, but fell in with the wrong crowd. After paying the price for a drug charge she moved on with her life. But on returning to the U.S. after a family vacation, she was detained for the same prior drug charge. She is currently in detention, and fears that she will be ripped from her family and friends in the U.S. and sent to Bolivia.
*Carla
Carla is from Panama, but has been living in the U.S for 43 years. She is a legal permanent resident. As an accountant for a law firm, she thought she was doing her job to the best of her ability. She handled checks for busy lawyers—as she was told. But now, she’s really paying for it. As Carla says, she went from “executive to inmate.”
*Names have been changed.
