A reflection on the war on drugs, and its impact on families. For the past five years, I have been working with Ana*, who has been a lawful permanent resident in the United States for more than 28 years. She was a single mother for most of her life, raising her five children on her own. She now has 20 grandchildren, 16 of whom are U.S. citizens. She spends her days with her children and grandchildren.
Many years ago, she abused drugs and alcohol and suffered from alcoholism. Eighteen years ago, Ana was convicted of possession of a controlled substance.
Ana applied for U.S. citizenship in 2010 because her life and family is in the United States. She wanted to become a U.S. citizen to fully participate in this country. As part of her application, she demonstrated that she can speak English, she passed the history/civics test, and she showed a history of employment and payment of taxes.
Like all of us, Ana is not perfect. However, after being convicted, Ana did something that many cannot. She recognized that she had a problem and sought out treatment. She now has been sober for nearly two decades. But Ana recognizes that this is a lifelong disease. She continues to participate in Alcoholics Anonymous three days a week, and she volunteers her time to help others toward recovery.
Notwithstanding these facts, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services denied Ana’s application for citizenship five years ago and placed her in deportation proceedings, threatening to separate her from her children and grandchildren. On many levels, it is hard to understand why our government would expend resources to deport this mother and grandmother and separate her from the people who she is helping to recover from alcoholism. Unfortunately, Ana’s case is not unique and anyone with a drug conviction faces deportation from the United States—no matter how minor or old their conviction.
It is critical to think about this now because under the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program announced by President Obama, parents of U.S. citizen and lawful permanent resident children will be eligible for a temporary reprieve from deportation and permission to work lawfully. Millions of families will have a break from fear of separation. However, one conviction for driving under the influence or possession of a controlled substance, regardless of how long ago and regardless of rehabilitation, may disqualify a parent from the program.
Ana’s story has a happy ending. Last month, a judge reinstated Ana’s lawful permanent residency, finding that she had demonstrated rehabilitation. The judge described her as a positive role model to her children and commended her on her efforts to help others struggling with addiction. I am grateful for this outcome, but it should not have taken this long to recognize that Ana deserves to remain in the United States.
Working with Ana has been exceptionally rewarding, but also saddening. My mother was an alcoholic who never recovered. Unlike Ana, she never came to the realization that she had a problem and never sought help. I wonder if things would have been different if my mother could have met someone like Ana. Penalizing people for drug or alcohol use does not work. Deporting immigrants from the United States and separating them from family due to drug or alcohol abuse does not work. Instead, we need to learn from individuals such as Ana and encourage them to keep helping others. We should not be denying their applications for citizenship and trying to deport them.
DAPA applicants with stories like Ana’s should have the opportunity to request exemptions to bars involving non-violent drug and alcohol crimes, and the legal community needs to support them. For NIJC clients who meet all of DAPA’s requirements but have old or minor criminal offenses, we’ll be presenting evidence to show they are not threats to national security, border security, or public safety—in other words, they do not fall under the administration’s enforcement priorities—and therefore they qualify for exceptions.
Alcoholism and drug addiction are diseases, not crimes that warrant life sentences or permanent exile. Those who seek out treatment and demonstrate rehabilitation should be eligible to receive deferred action under DAPA and remain in the United States with their children.
*Name has been changed to protect privacy.
Karolyn Talbert is an associate director of legal services at Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center.