WEBVTT - An Inside Look at the Asylum Process 0:00:01.800 --> 0:00:05.560 Also media. 0:00:06.160 --> 0:00:08.119 Hi, everyone, welcome to the podcast. 0:00:08.200 --> 0:00:11.040 It's me James today and I'm very fortunate to be 0:00:11.160 --> 0:00:16.239 joined by Francis, whose husband Amos is facing a date 0:00:16.280 --> 0:00:19.640 in immigration court this week. We wanted to bring you 0:00:19.760 --> 0:00:21.960 a first time perspective of what it's like going through 0:00:22.000 --> 0:00:23.279 immigration court right now. 0:00:23.320 --> 0:00:25.400 So Francis, thank you for joining us. 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:27.800 Thank you, thank you so much for having me. 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:31.200 Yeah, of course, we're very glad you're here. So to 0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:35.839 start with, like, would you like to explain your families 0:00:35.920 --> 0:00:39.360 and it's a lengthy topic, your family's immigration story. 0:00:40.400 --> 0:00:45.159 Yes, I met my husband Amos in Hollywood. We were 0:00:45.159 --> 0:00:47.640 both living in Hollywood and we dated a couple of 0:00:47.720 --> 0:00:50.440 years there and then ended up moving to his home 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:53.800 country of Tunisia because he had a big family there 0:00:53.840 --> 0:00:56.240 and I don't have much family here and we wanted 0:00:56.280 --> 0:00:58.959 to have children. It's much better cost of living there, 0:00:59.000 --> 0:01:03.080 and at the time the government there was doing pretty well. 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:05.200 There had been an Arab spring, which my husband was 0:01:05.280 --> 0:01:09.160 very much involved with on this over here in the States, 0:01:09.200 --> 0:01:12.640 like helping with that, and so he's an activist, and 0:01:12.959 --> 0:01:15.320 at the time the government there was pretty good. So 0:01:16.400 --> 0:01:18.839 we lived there for eight years, had our children there, 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:24.200 and a new presidency came in while we were living there, 0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:30.040 the current president Caius Sayid, and things started to change. 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:34.319 So my husband was doing a lot of organizing grassroots 0:01:34.600 --> 0:01:38.199 movement through local farmers unions and monitoring elections and doing 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:44.479 democracy activities for anti corruption and he's really an activist 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:48.600 for free speech and things like that. So he started 0:01:48.600 --> 0:01:53.760 getting harassed. He was arrested, he was beaten up by 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:58.520 the police and things like that. So it started getting 0:01:58.600 --> 0:02:01.280 very uncomfortable. Also, I was getting harassed. I would get 0:02:01.320 --> 0:02:04.560 pulled over a lot by the police. They would impound 0:02:04.560 --> 0:02:07.240 our car, they would take us out. Yeah, the police 0:02:07.280 --> 0:02:10.560 there carry big guns, you know, as in most Arab countries, 0:02:10.600 --> 0:02:13.400 and so it was very frightening for me. Yeah, they 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:15.760 carry big guns. They're either on their backs or even 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:18.200 in their hands, and they would have me and the 0:02:18.240 --> 0:02:22.240 kids get out of the car, and it was very frightening. So, yeah, 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:25.120 the children and I, well, we were all planning on 0:02:25.200 --> 0:02:27.800 coming back to the States. I hadn't been home in 0:02:27.800 --> 0:02:30.919 a while, and so the children and I went ahead 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:34.280 and came, assuming that my husband would be able to 0:02:35.120 --> 0:02:38.440 get a at least a visa to you know, see 0:02:38.520 --> 0:02:43.160 us and while once we were here, he was not 0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:46.600 able to get a visa. He tried and tried and tried, 0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:50.880 and I was begging the embassy to allow him to 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:53.640 see us here, and they just would not. So we 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:56.760 were separated for nine months. So him being away from 0:02:56.760 --> 0:02:59.120 our children, they were about four and six at the time, 0:02:59.680 --> 0:03:03.720 or maybe five and seven. It was devastating for all 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:07.200 of us. So he ended up taking a very treacherous 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:10.920 journey across South America and made his way through many 0:03:10.960 --> 0:03:15.560 countries and presented himself for asylum at the border because again, 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:18.480 we did not feel safe living in Tunia anymore. So 0:03:18.600 --> 0:03:22.720 he presented himself for asylum at the border and they 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:26.280 allowed him into this country with a court date. And 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:29.120 at the time, Biden was president, So things are, you know, 0:03:29.480 --> 0:03:33.320 have changed a lot since then. You know, the immigration 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:36.840 system is broken. Everybody knows that. It takes years and 0:03:36.920 --> 0:03:39.240 years and years and tons and tons of money for 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:42.240 an immigrant to you know, go through the process. You 0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:44.640 know people who say, oh, just do it the right way. 0:03:45.040 --> 0:03:48.480 It's not that simple. It takes a lot of money 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:51.080 and a lot of time, and it's very complicated. And 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:56.040 when you're fleeing a country or a situation where you're 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:59.320 in danger, there is no other option, you know, there's 0:03:59.320 --> 0:04:03.080 nowhere to go back, right, So that's what we're kind 0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:06.240 of facing now. So he had a court date. We've 0:04:06.320 --> 0:04:11.800 had five master hearings, and we've gone through a few 0:04:11.840 --> 0:04:14.680 different lawyers because we have found, for one thing, it's 0:04:14.720 --> 0:04:17.920 extremely difficult to find a lawyer these days because they're 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:21.279 very overbooked. Most of them are not taking new cases. 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:24.000 People tell us, oh, just get a pro bono lawyer. 0:04:24.560 --> 0:04:28.600 It is almost impossible to get a pro bono lawyer anymore. 0:04:28.720 --> 0:04:31.559 And you know who has thousands and thousands of extra 0:04:31.600 --> 0:04:35.400 dollars to pay for legal help with the situation. We 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:39.560 do have a lawyer now thanks to some fundraising that 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:42.400 we've done. So since he's been here, we've had to 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:45.960 check in at the ICE office like it was on 0:04:46.200 --> 0:04:49.239 sort of a basis of after you have a court 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:51.839 hearing the next day or within a couple of days, 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:53.680 you must go check in it ICE. And it's been 0:04:53.760 --> 0:04:57.520 very fine, like the there's a very nice officer there 0:04:57.600 --> 0:05:01.080 who knows us and helped tries to he answer our questions. 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:04.600 So it was pretty calm when Biden was president, and 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:07.880 then now that Trump's administration has taken over. We knew 0:05:07.880 --> 0:05:09.360 that there would be a lot of changes and we 0:05:09.360 --> 0:05:14.080 were very frightened. So we went for a hearing earlier 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:16.679 this year. You know, we're just a lot more nervous. 0:05:16.960 --> 0:05:20.159 And the hearing went fine, just kind of as normal. 0:05:20.520 --> 0:05:23.360 We went to the ICE check in. I think our 0:05:23.400 --> 0:05:25.880 guard was kind of down because we thought, since the 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:28.960 hearing went fine, this will go fine. Yeah, and the 0:05:29.640 --> 0:05:32.200 nice officer told us, you know, well this is going 0:05:32.279 --> 0:05:34.080 to sound a little scary, but we need you to 0:05:34.120 --> 0:05:36.560 go check in at a different place this time. And 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:39.159 so they sent us to a company called ice App. 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:43.080 They own, i think migrant detention centers. So we went 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:45.400 to this place and he was there the whole day. 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:48.120 They were interviewing him. They put an app in his 0:05:48.279 --> 0:05:51.880 phone so that now he has to do these weekly 0:05:52.000 --> 0:05:55.120 check ins where his phone makes this loud alarm sound. 0:05:55.200 --> 0:05:57.920 He must stop everything and take a picture of himself. 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:00.680 There's a monthly home visit where they come to our 0:06:00.680 --> 0:06:04.440 house and take his picture and ask him questions. There's 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:07.760 we have to go check in at their office, and 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:10.760 also he does virtual check in. So it's just a 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:15.080 lot more and everything was kind of going as planned. 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:18.800 We are last hearing in July that was really stressful 0:06:18.839 --> 0:06:22.160 because we didn't have a lawyer leading up to it, 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:25.040 and at the last second we were able to get 0:06:25.080 --> 0:06:26.960 a lawyer. And the reason it's so important to have 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:29.920 a lawyer is because if you don't, you must appear 0:06:30.000 --> 0:06:33.919 in person, and that's very stressful and frightening. Again, we 0:06:33.960 --> 0:06:37.160 have small children. We don't even do babysitters, like, we're 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:40.520 always just together. We're a very tight family unit, and 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:43.680 so we go to these things together. And we really 0:06:43.680 --> 0:06:46.640 wanted this last one in July to be virtual because 0:06:47.160 --> 0:06:49.640 if it's virtual, you know, it's just feels a lot safer. 0:06:49.720 --> 0:06:52.080 We're in the comfort of our own home and we've 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:54.039 been hearing in the news, you know, how they're picking 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:58.200 up people outside of their court hearings. So we got 0:06:58.240 --> 0:07:00.760 the attorney, we got a virtual here. It was a 0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:04.960 very short hearing. It was great because she just gave 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:08.960 us the next hearing date was September of twenty twenty eight, 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:12.120 and the judge said, Okay, see you in twenty twenty eight, 0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:15.520 and we breathed a sigh of relief, crossed our fingers, 0:07:16.160 --> 0:07:19.520 did our necessary check ins, and we were just you know, 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:23.040 hoping that everything would be fine. Ye, well, just here 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:25.880 at the end of August, beginning of September, we get 0:07:25.960 --> 0:07:28.600 out of the blue a new notice. It was very 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:32.680 interesting too, because this iceapp company calls us and says, 0:07:32.720 --> 0:07:36.440 good news, We're gonna lessen the amount of check ins 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:37.880 you have to do. It's going to be a lot 0:07:37.960 --> 0:07:41.040 less now. So, you know, it was interesting because she's like, 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:42.920 this is great news for you, so like once a month, 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:44.800 you'll still do the weekly ones and then it's just 0:07:44.800 --> 0:07:45.480 going to be once. 0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:46.280 A month, okay. 0:07:46.720 --> 0:07:49.120 But then she says, and then we'll see you after 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:53.480 your hearing in September, meaning this September. And we thought 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:55.520 it was a mistake because we knew we had one 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:58.240 in twenty twenty eight. Yeah, like, no, no, you got 0:07:58.280 --> 0:08:01.000 a new hearing notice. So that's how we found out. 0:08:01.360 --> 0:08:04.040 They didn't send it to us. Even our lawyer didn't know. 0:08:04.160 --> 0:08:06.080 So we find out that we have a new hearing 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:08.800 out of the blue. There was a mix up about 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:12.760 the dates, but anyway, it was September eleventh or fifteenth, 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:16.160 and then our attorney asked for an extension and the 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:18.480 most they could give us was nine days. So now 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:23.680 our hearing is this coming Wednesday, September twenty fourth, and 0:08:23.800 --> 0:08:27.000 on this has never happened before, but when again, when 0:08:27.000 --> 0:08:30.680 you have an attorney, you can appear virtually, and on 0:08:30.800 --> 0:08:34.400 this hearing notice it said that the attorney can appear virtually, 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:37.960 but the respondent must appear in person, and that is 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:41.280 highly unusual. It's in bold at the top. So our 0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:44.840 attorney agrees with us that it's pretty clear the plan is. 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:47.520 What they've been doing now is when you go to court, 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:52.680 they drop your case. So now it's dismissed, and therefore 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:57.040 you are just here without due process. Now you don't 0:08:57.040 --> 0:08:59.520 have a right to do process. It's done, so you're 0:08:59.559 --> 0:09:02.840 just here legally, and then they're sometimes waiting for you 0:09:02.880 --> 0:09:05.200 in the hallway or outside the building to take you 0:09:05.240 --> 0:09:09.640 to iced attention. So obviously since we found this out, 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:14.080 I mean, we've just been sleepless nights, full panic mode 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:16.079 of figuring out like what to do, and then our 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:21.000 attorney doesn't even have answers for us. She does not 0:09:21.120 --> 0:09:23.320 know what to do. She says, this is all new 0:09:23.360 --> 0:09:25.439 to her, it's new to all the lawyers. She doesn't 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:28.080 even know what to do or who to ask. And 0:09:28.120 --> 0:09:31.160 that's frightening, because that's why we have an attorney, you know, 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:36.400 We're hoping for some support or someone who's knowledgeable about 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:38.920 the law and what are our options, and it feels 0:09:38.960 --> 0:09:42.160 like we don't have any. We feel extremely helpless, and 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:46.720 I've never thought I would see this in my country, 0:09:46.880 --> 0:09:51.280 my quote unquote free country that I have lived in 0:09:51.400 --> 0:09:54.440 most of my life and grew up in. Also, about 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:58.480 two weeks ago, they changed the law where now we 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:01.360 are not entitled to a bar, so if he is 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:04.160 taken into detention, we can't even get him out, because 0:10:04.200 --> 0:10:06.520 that was the first thing we thought was, well, let's 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:08.880 just try to get some money together and we'll bail 0:10:08.960 --> 0:10:12.200 him out. Yeah, that's not even an option anymore. So 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:17.240 again more fear. So we're dealing with all of this 0:10:17.320 --> 0:10:21.400 and wondering what to do as far as you know. Again, 0:10:21.440 --> 0:10:24.000 we have small children. They're now seven and nine years old. 0:10:24.400 --> 0:10:26.640 We're extremely happy where we're living. We live in a 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:30.240 small community that does lean on the conservative side, so 0:10:30.320 --> 0:10:32.760 we do feel a little uncomfortable with some of our 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:36.720 neighbors and their flags and everything. They're very bold, so 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:40.199 you know, and you can't hide being brown, so it's 0:10:40.520 --> 0:10:44.360 awkward and then our children because of the way that 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:47.760 we left before. When we left Tunisia, it was pretty sudden. 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:50.080 We kind of took them out of school and just 0:10:50.120 --> 0:10:54.000 came to America and left their dad behind. So they've 0:10:54.000 --> 0:10:56.600 been in therapy ever since. They each have a weekly 0:10:56.679 --> 0:11:00.320 therapist just to help with if they're you know, if 0:11:00.320 --> 0:11:02.920 they're going to have any symptoms of trauma coming up 0:11:03.559 --> 0:11:06.920 for them. And they're doing great. Actually, they're thriving here. 0:11:07.080 --> 0:11:09.320 They are so happy. They are in the best school. 0:11:09.400 --> 0:11:13.000 I actually work at their school, and my husband volunteers 0:11:13.040 --> 0:11:16.360 at the school and he's been their soccer coach for 0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:18.600 both of their teams, which is a lot to take on. 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:22.880 He also volunteers in our community at a ranch helping 0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:28.240 with horses and at a facility for senior citizens. And 0:11:28.880 --> 0:11:30.880 he does have a work permit. They granted him a 0:11:30.920 --> 0:11:33.160 work permit, which took a long time to get. 0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:35.440 That's good because that can take a long time. 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:39.240 It took a long time, over a year, but he 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:42.800 does have it now. So we got excited because he 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:44.880 only got the work permit a couple months ago, so 0:11:44.880 --> 0:11:48.240 we're very excited, you know, he can work and now 0:11:48.320 --> 0:11:51.720 it's just out of the blue. Our world has turned 0:11:51.760 --> 0:11:56.000 upside down where there's a strong potential that he will 0:11:56.040 --> 0:12:00.440 be taken into ice custody and listen, I understand if 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:02.720 that's how they want to do things now, but if 0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:07.640 it was like a safer situation where maybe they just. 0:12:08.240 --> 0:12:09.320 I don't know. 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:14.280 It's just there's so many unknowns about where are they 0:12:14.280 --> 0:12:18.640 taking him. There's our lawyer does not think we will 0:12:18.960 --> 0:12:22.320 be informed about where they take him. That's one thing 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:25.720 which means we probably won't be able to communicate with him. 0:12:26.320 --> 0:12:28.960 We don't know how long he'll be there. They could 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:31.760 keep him there the entire three years until twenty twenty eight. 0:12:31.760 --> 0:12:34.199 They might just want to keep him in detention and wait, 0:12:34.240 --> 0:12:36.559 you know, for his next year. It doesn't make any 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:40.480 sense to me because that costs money, and he's a 0:12:40.520 --> 0:12:44.400 tax payer. Wouldn't it pay more if he's home working. 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:48.800 By the way, yes, he has no criminal record whatsoever. 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:52.960 He has not broken any immigration laws, at least when 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:56.440 he came over the border. It was legal to present 0:12:56.480 --> 0:12:58.959 yourself for asylum when you are coming from a country 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:02.920 like he was. Where he was you know, being harassed, detained, 0:13:03.559 --> 0:13:06.280 and our entire family like we were being threatened and 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:07.880 feeling very unsafe there. 0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:10.800 So, yeah, it's a textbook asylum place, right, like. 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:15.199 Yeah, we have a valid asylum claim. We've submitted hundreds 0:13:15.240 --> 0:13:19.760 of documents of evidence to the court. You know, the 0:13:19.840 --> 0:13:22.360 judge actually complimented us on how well we did because 0:13:22.360 --> 0:13:24.679 at the time we didn't have an attorney. We were 0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:26.120 just trying to do it on our own because we 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:29.360 couldn't afford an attorney. We were both college graduates, so 0:13:29.400 --> 0:13:34.319 we put together a really organized, you know case, and 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:37.880 so I have filed to sponsor him as well. You know, 0:13:37.920 --> 0:13:41.360 as my husband. We've been together twelve years, married ten 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:45.000 two kids, and they don't care about that. It does 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:47.760 not matter if he has an American family, it does 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:51.760 not matter. They are taking anybody. And that also is very, 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:54.440 very frustrating, and that's the reason that we should have 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:57.280 due process. They should be looking at every single case 0:13:57.320 --> 0:14:00.480 individually and have a judge make a decision. That's the 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:16.160 whole point of it. Obviously, if we hadn't hindsight, if 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:20.360 we had known that this could have happened, we had 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:23.480 no idea that this could have happened in our country, 0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:26.640 we would have started this sponsorship process a long time ago. 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:28.520 The reason we did and is because he was married 0:14:28.560 --> 0:14:34.120 before and he went through this process with USCIS to 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:36.920 try to get sponsorship with his first wife, and it 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:39.960 was extremely complicated and frustrating and cost a lot of money, 0:14:40.000 --> 0:14:41.600 and he went through a bunch of lawyers and he 0:14:41.720 --> 0:14:44.800 was so traumatized by the experience that literally we had 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:47.240 big legal files in our house that I had to 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:49.480 hide because he couldn't even see them or he would 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:52.880 get triggered. So he didn't want to put me through that. 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:55.520 And we were living in Tunisia anyway, and so we 0:14:55.600 --> 0:14:57.400 just figured we were just kind of kicking the can 0:14:57.480 --> 0:14:59.160 down the road, thinking, oh, we'll deal with it at 0:14:59.240 --> 0:15:03.720 some point. Unfortunately, we waited way too long and you know, 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:06.880 didn't start dealing with it until he got here. And 0:15:07.000 --> 0:15:10.680 so USCIS, which is where we you know, file for 0:15:10.720 --> 0:15:11.560 this sponsorship. 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:15.160 Yeah, you ask Customs Immigration Service people know familiar. 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:18.320 Yes, thank you. After we filed that, they gave us 0:15:18.320 --> 0:15:21.320 a time period on when we would get the decision. 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:23.640 It was fifteen months that we would have to wait. 0:15:23.680 --> 0:15:25.800 And we've been checking the site, checking the site, checking 0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:28.120 the site, has been counting down, counting down, and about 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:29.440 a month ago we were down. 0:15:29.280 --> 0:15:31.480 To a week, oh well, okay, that we would be. 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:35.560 Getting a decision, and after the week passed, it changed 0:15:35.640 --> 0:15:38.920 the message on the app now or the website now 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:42.320 says and definitely you'll have to wait indefinitely for this decision. 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:46.280 So we've been trying to ask our lawyer please push 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:49.560 for this because if that gets you know, an answer, 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:53.000 that would be great. But the answer could be no 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:56.400 on that as well. They could just say no, come 0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:59.120 on in and they can take him straight from there 0:15:59.160 --> 0:16:04.520 as well. So the whole thing is so incredibly stressful 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:08.120 and frightening the fact that my government, I'm in America, 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:11.440 I'm an American citizen with two American kids, and my 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:15.600 government is threatening to tear our family apart and take 0:16:15.640 --> 0:16:20.120 my husband away, the father of my children, and traumatize 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:23.720 my children again to have their dad not with us, 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:27.040 and lord knows where they're going to send him. It 0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:31.360 is absolutely infuriating, and it feels like agony too, because 0:16:31.400 --> 0:16:33.560 like every day I wake up and I'm counting down 0:16:33.640 --> 0:16:35.960 the days to this hearing, and we have no idea 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:39.680 what's going to happen. Right, it feels very very threatening 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:43.280 to our safety and our livelihood, and that it's coming 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:47.640 from our government does not make me feel like this 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:50.560 is a great country to live in and I do 0:16:50.680 --> 0:16:52.080 not feel safe living here. 0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:54.400 Yeah, thanks for sharing all that. 0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:57.400 That's a lot too, yeah to have to put out there, 0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:00.800 so thank you for sharing it. Yes, we should just 0:17:00.960 --> 0:17:05.080 explain for people, like there's a lot of stuff that 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:07.680 maybe people who haven't been through the system might not 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:11.680 not grasp within that right, So what the government has 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:14.160 if I just break down, like the dismissal of cases, 0:17:14.240 --> 0:17:16.240 as I understand that what the government has been doing 0:17:16.280 --> 0:17:19.800 has been dismissing people's asylum case right, which they got 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:23.320 under Title eight when they entered and added by the administration, 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:26.920 and then placing them in expedited removal proceedings, which is 0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:29.159 a mandatory detention as you said, right, it's not a 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:33.159 bailout situation, and then as you say, forcing them to 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:36.119 fight from detention, right, which in this case would obviously 0:17:36.119 --> 0:17:39.840 stop your husband from working, stop your husband from paying taxes, 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:42.640 and instead make him a burden on the American taxpayer 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:47.320 while he's detained in conditions which could often be very poor. 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:50.960 In that situation, You're only sort of claim is a 0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:54.040 credible fear of torture, right, which is something that in 0:17:54.040 --> 0:17:57.200 your case, it sounds like would be very real. But nonetheless, 0:17:57.240 --> 0:17:59.080 that is a very high bar, and we've seen the 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:01.720 United States do all kinds of things to get around that. 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:03.439 We've got on that all the time, so I can 0:18:03.520 --> 0:18:07.760 understand that fear and where it comes from. I think 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:11.639 people will be shocked, but they perhaps shouldn't be to 0:18:11.640 --> 0:18:13.280 hear that, Like, yes, you can be a US citizen 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:15.560 married to a non US citizen. This can still happen 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:19.000 to you. It can happen to anyone who is not 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:22.679 a citizen in this country right now. I wonder, like 0:18:24.040 --> 0:18:28.760 it must have been pretty heartbreaking to see the election, 0:18:29.760 --> 0:18:34.040 to see the rhetoric, Like how does that line up 0:18:34.080 --> 0:18:36.480 with your lives in your community? Because I see this 0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:40.119 often even from really conservative people, right, Like I know 0:18:40.320 --> 0:18:43.040 people who voted for Trump who have also shown up 0:18:43.080 --> 0:18:47.720 to cook for asylum seekers in the desert or to 0:18:47.920 --> 0:18:51.720 help refugees living in our community. Like it's a very 0:18:51.760 --> 0:18:57.960 strange thing. Have you felt alienated from your community since 0:18:58.560 --> 0:19:01.720 the beginning of this year, because I'm interested in, like 0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:04.720 how your lives have changed because of that change in rhetoric. 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:08.600 Yes, Like I said, we have neighbors on our streets. 0:19:08.600 --> 0:19:10.639 So there was a block party for Fourth of July, 0:19:10.720 --> 0:19:14.000 which I didn't even feel like celebrating, but we had 0:19:14.080 --> 0:19:16.119 just moved into this house, so we felt, you know, 0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:17.919 like we should go at least meet the neighbors. And 0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:20.320 there's a lot of Trump flags on our street, and 0:19:20.520 --> 0:19:24.480 it was very awkward. But my husband is very charming 0:19:24.480 --> 0:19:27.040 and charismatic and outgoing, and he just goes right up 0:19:27.040 --> 0:19:30.520 and introduces himself. And there was one gentleman wearing a 0:19:30.520 --> 0:19:33.560 T shirt that said they hate us because they ate us, 0:19:33.640 --> 0:19:35.960 and it's got a big old, you know, Trump face 0:19:36.000 --> 0:19:38.720 on it, and it was just so so awkward. So yeah, 0:19:38.760 --> 0:19:42.840 we feel uncomfortable. Also, like I said, it's a leans 0:19:42.880 --> 0:19:47.240 conservative in this community and our school. Even like, as 0:19:47.240 --> 0:19:50.040 we're doing this fundraiser, we were very careful not to 0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:53.480 share it with anyone that we live near, just in case, 0:19:53.680 --> 0:19:56.480 you know, because we have been hearing reports of people 0:19:56.920 --> 0:20:00.600 like neighbors calling ice on their neighbors to you report 0:20:00.640 --> 0:20:03.760 them and you know, go pick up this person. You know, 0:20:03.960 --> 0:20:06.359 he looks brown or I don't know what they're what 0:20:06.400 --> 0:20:09.439 they're doing or their logic, but you know, yeah, it 0:20:09.480 --> 0:20:14.080 feels very threatening and even Oh. My daughter even said, uh, 0:20:14.280 --> 0:20:18.119 can't Data just cover up his skin? You know, like 0:20:18.240 --> 0:20:20.440 she was just thinking like, yeah, was he gonna wear 0:20:20.640 --> 0:20:21.160 her cup? 0:20:21.480 --> 0:20:22.240 Yeah? Right? 0:20:22.880 --> 0:20:25.920 I mean, you can't really hide who you are, and 0:20:25.960 --> 0:20:27.120 you shouldn't have. 0:20:27.040 --> 0:20:30.399 To, right, And it's very hard for the kids to 0:20:30.480 --> 0:20:33.040 be saying that, yeah, the dad should be hiding. 0:20:33.480 --> 0:20:34.240 Yeah. 0:20:34.280 --> 0:20:36.679 And they've asked me, how can we make Trump just 0:20:36.720 --> 0:20:39.240 forget about Data, you know, and I said, well, he 0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:41.720 doesn't really know. They don't you know, he doesn't know 0:20:41.800 --> 0:20:44.720 exactly your dad. He's just they're doing this to a 0:20:44.800 --> 0:20:47.439 lot of people. You know. We just happened to be 0:20:47.480 --> 0:20:50.360 in that group. But I will say we have some 0:20:50.359 --> 0:20:53.840 some close friends that we really adore and they are Trumpers. 0:20:53.880 --> 0:20:55.600 You know, we see it on their Facebook page, but 0:20:55.640 --> 0:20:58.679 then when we're in their presence, they don't bring it up, 0:20:58.720 --> 0:21:02.520 and it's just kind of an elephant room. And honestly, 0:21:02.560 --> 0:21:05.240 as our core data is getting closer, we plan on 0:21:05.320 --> 0:21:08.800 having them over to talk about it because it feels 0:21:08.880 --> 0:21:13.240 very awkward. And I just think there's the kindest people. 0:21:13.240 --> 0:21:16.000 They're extremely religious, which we are not when we're on 0:21:16.040 --> 0:21:18.520 the spiritual side, but you know, I think they're just 0:21:18.800 --> 0:21:21.200 they're just on a team. They've chosen a team, and 0:21:21.320 --> 0:21:23.600 I don't think they're necessarily paying a lot of attention 0:21:23.680 --> 0:21:26.840 to what's actually happening to people. So we're hoping that 0:21:27.119 --> 0:21:30.480 just a conversation will just let them know. We want 0:21:30.480 --> 0:21:32.720 to be honest with the people that are close to us, 0:21:32.720 --> 0:21:34.440 and that mean a lot to us, you know, because 0:21:35.240 --> 0:21:38.960 we don't know what's about to happen. And even there's 0:21:39.000 --> 0:21:42.399 members of my family that I feel very awkward talking 0:21:42.440 --> 0:21:46.479 to as well, where I'm kind of distanced myself because 0:21:46.680 --> 0:21:51.480 people who are still supporting this regime at this point, 0:21:51.800 --> 0:21:54.840 to me are too far gone to even kind of 0:21:54.880 --> 0:21:58.879