Austin Mother Faces Deportation
30-year-old Maria (not her real name) has a 6-year-old son who has autism—-and Maria faces deportation to Mexico. At 13, she came from there to the US on a visitor’s visa and attended public schools, got married, got divorced, has two children, and works full-time at a child-care center. The May 4th Austin America-Statesman reports:
Like millions of people in the United States, she is unauthorized to live and work here. A federal immigration officer discovered that secret in the Travis County Jail, where Maria had been booked on a misdemeanor assault charge after she was involved in a dispute with her ex-husband.
They had argued during a custody exchange of their children. Maria said that knowing her ex’s history of domestic violence, she thought it wise to call police. (According to public records, her former spouse has twice been charged with assault/family violence; both cases were dismissed.)
When they arrived, police found “bleeding scratch marks” on her ex-husband’s neck and forearm, according to an arrest affidavit. Maria said she had only blocked his attempt to strike her after she tried to take their 8-year-old daughter from his arms.
Maria spent the night in jail, paid $2,000 bail and signed documents for her release. Then the immigration officer approached. She told Maria she was now in federal custody.
Maria is now out on $11,000 bail. Both of her children were born in the US and are citizens, and Maria’s family is here and “[i]f Maria is deported, the whole family would suffer.” That is clear—but what about Maria’s fate?
Tags: AIDS, asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, deportation, domestic abuse, Health, immigration, latin american, legal, mexico, pdd-nos, texasRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Latino/a, Legal Issues
1 opinion for Austin Mother Faces Deportation
Beth Delaney
Jun 17, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Oh Dear God!! Cut me a break. Give Maria a break, and for heavens sake recognize her sons disability, as well as the resources offered here in the US. Maria’s son is a citizen and more than deserves all that America has to offer. He also needs his mother, obviously. Therefore, Maria should be given the opportunity to become a citizen, as well as, being protected from her abusive husband. The “right thing” is to help this little boy and his mom. Autism is a heartwrenching disorder, but with intensive therapies, and knowledgeable teachers much progress can be made. However, routine, consistantcy, and predictablitity are musts. All the therapy in the world without his mom, or his mom without the therapy just won’t help.
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