Keeping Families Together
How a son worked with three congressmen to prevent his mother from being deported.
On March 18th, I held an ad hoc hearing in North Las Vegas on immigration, deportation, and detention. I was joined by Congressman Luis Guitierrez (IL-4) and Congressman Ruben Hinojosa (TX-15).
I knew it was going to be an important gathering, but I had no idea that one person in attendance would have such a profound impact on our community.
That person is Bryan Rivera.
Bryan and Thelma
“I’m the voice of the hundreds of thousands of kids that are being affected and deprived of their parents due to the immigration laws that we have right now.”
Bryan Rivera is a 20-year-old Las Vegan who came to our immigration hearing as a last resort.
Three weeks earlier Bryan’s mother, Thelma Martinez Soto, had been detained by U.S. Immigration and Enforcement Services (ICE).
Thelma came to the United States when she was a young woman. She was in search of a better life and looking to start a family. Since arriving in the U.S., she has never been in trouble. All she has ever wanted is to provide for Bryan, her only son.
But Thelma’s life has been difficult.
Bryan’s father, her ex-husband, abused her while she was pregnant with Bryan. Due to the abuse, Bryan was born prematurely after seven months, and was deaf in his left year.
Bryan told us:
“My father has terrorized my mother’s life. He was eventually convicted of domestic violence. Soon after, she worked up the courage to leave him and focused on raising me into a man.”
Thelma worked two jobs so that Bryan had the opportunity to pursue his dreams by attending Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. Bryan was humbled by her sacrifices, and said he hopes to provide for her just as she did for him.
It doesn't take long to see Bryan is a young man with wisdom far beyond his years.
Unfortunately, Bryan told us his father recently re-entered his life.
When Thelma asked for child support payments, Bryan’s father threatened to turn her in to ICE. He told Bryan:
“Remember your mother’s an illegal immigrant, and I can get rid of her.”
And that’s what he did, because our system is backwards and broken.
Thelma, who was the victim of domestic violence, became the victim of a broken system. A loving mother raising her son was detained at the hands of her abuser. That is perverse, wrong, and unjust.
A Family Reunited
After the hearing, Bryan spoke with Congressman Gutierrez, Congressman Hinojosa, and me. Working together, we contacted ICE to see what we could do.
After our repeated calls, Thelma was released on an order of supervision in order to prepare her case to seek legal status in the United States. In the meantime, we are going to help her find asylum through a visa for victims of abuse.
As Representative Gutierrez said:
“This is how the law is supposed to work. This is how the discretion of prosecutors is supposed to be applied to do the right thing based on individual facts.”
Seeing Bryan and Thelma reunited, a loving mother and her only son, was an experience I’ll never forget.
“I was so scared,” Thelma said. “I still can’t sleep. My blood pressure is up. It was a nightmare.”
“I have never given up,” Bryan said. “And neither has she.”
The Time Is Now
We were able to right a wrong, but Bryan and Thelma are just one family. Across our country, hundreds of thousands of families are being hurt every day by a broken immigration system.
When you live in the shadows the law cannot protect you, but it can be used against you. You are at the mercy of others. And if they are abusive, there is very little you can do with confidence that you will be safe.
This is why we need to fix our system. Not only for DREAMers, but for their parents.
It has been months since the United States Senate overwhelmingly passed bipartisan comprehensive reform to fix our broken immigration system.
In response to the Senate bill, I — along with my Democratic colleagues in the House — introduced our own comprehensive immigration reform bill (H.R. 15) of which I am proud to be an original sponsor.
It is a bill that will strengthen our borders, create jobs, spur economic growth, reduce our deficit, and allow millions of aspiring U.S. citizens to come out of the shadows and live without fear of being taken away from their family.
Because Speaker Boehner has refused to schedule a vote on H.R. 15, Democrats are now moving forward with a discharge petition to force a vote. H.R. 15 is a bill that the majority of Americans support, and we can no longer let one person stand in the way of democracy. We have the votes to pass the bill, we just need to hold a vote. Now, House Democrats are using the discharge petition to demand a vote.
This truly is the civil rights issue of our time. It is an issue that we as a nation can no longer ignore.
We ultimately will be judged by how we act in the coming days and years; I’m proud to stand with Bryan, Thelma, my fellow House Democrats, and thousands of families waiting to be reunited on the right side of history. The time is now for comprehensive immigration reform.
We cannot waste another moment.
