Deportation means death to a little girl
Filed under: Lifestyle, Family togetherness, 12-18 months, 18-24 months, Hospitals
Immigration is definitely a hot-button item these days. Personally, I don't get it so much -- my father came to this country as a boy in 1939; my mother's family came over a fair bit prior, but basically, almost all of us, really, are immigrants. Be that as it may, however, whatever your stand on the issue, you have to understand every parent's desire to give their children the best possible life they can.So it was with Maria and Victor Roa, originally from Mexico. Twenty years ago, their home was a small cardboard house in Tijuana. In 1990, they crossed the border illegally to give their children new hope in a new country but are now facing deportation. This is not an uncommon story; what makes this unusual is the condition from which their eighteen-month-old daughter Hazelle suffers -- a thyroid deficiency and a narrow artery into her heart. This means, according to Dr. Stephen Wilson, medical director of inpatient pediatrics at UCSF, that "She'll need to undergo a diagnostic procedure every two years to evaluate the flow of the blood in her artery."
"Deportation is synonymous to a death sentence to us," said Maria Roa. "It's a terrorizing stress for the family." Hazelle is a U.S. citizen, having been born in the states. The family's attorney hopes that immigration officials will allow the case to be reviewed so that they will have a chance to stay together in the U.S. In the meantime, "we're going to continue life as normal," says Maria. "We'll keep fighting to stay, and we'll keep fighting for our daughter's life."
While I understand they did a naughty thing by coming to this country illegally, I have to wonder what happened to "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," and so on. I can't imagine the heartache they must be facing at having to leave the care that would keep their daughter alive.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments