Claudia Núñez
A few bloggers got together tonight to discuss immigration, and more importantly, the specific case of Claudia Núñez. I spoke about Claudia the other day, when she was featured in a report on News 2. Claudia is a mother of two, and wife to a legal immigrant, who is facing deportation for doing her best to follow the laws of Tennessee. Claudia was charged with driving without a license a few weeks ago, and given a ticket. She then came to appear in court, where she unexpectedly was taken into custody on an immigration violation. To the best of my knowledge Claudia has never been charged with a violent crime, and until her immigration status became an issue she was a waitress at a restaurant in Cool Springs. Essentially Claudia Núñez was doing her best to live the American dream.
Now, Claudia faces deportation...not to Mexico, but to El Salvador. In El Salvador, Claudia faces the prospect of no friends or family (all of them are in the United States) and instead faces the possibility of being raped or killed by the Mara Salvatrucha. The Mara Salvatrucha is an El Salvadoran gang that was actually started here in the United States, but has been imported (or deported) into El Salvador and to a lesser extent Honduras. NPR and the BBC have excellent pieces on the reach and impact of The Mara gangs. They have been accused of raping and beating deported immigrants because they feel that these immigrants either have money, or have access to money in the United States.
So here is this mother of two, who faces deportation to a country where she has no family or support structure, and has a reasonable expectation of "bodily harm" if sent back. I don't wish to push Claudia's story as a need for sane immigration policy. That is another debate which I am sure to have. But let us have compassion for Claudia, and put pressure on those who can have influence on her fate. Hopefully in the next day or two I will have found out ways in which Claudia and her family can be helped, and I will share that with you.
There is more information on her case available at The Nashville Scene.
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Aunt B
Chris Wage
Hutchmo
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2 comments:
Terrible man. These racist, conservative pigs don't understand the people they hurt. Yesterday I'm out in Murfreesboro, and every state senator or State rep. campaign says STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION!! What the hell is up with that?? Why is rural America so obsessed with this?? We just need to come to some sensible solutions to problems that aren't even that bad.
I hope that everything works out for her. I would hate see a mother seprated from her family. Her husband is leagle in the US. What she did was minor. Something US citizens do on a daily basis. I say let her stay. Good luck to you.
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