The nightmare began for Nelson* and his family on September 6, 2011. That day, Nelson and his wife, Alicia*, were driving to a doctor’s appointment for their son, Carlos*, who was scheduled to receive an MRI that day. At 29 months, Carlos has been diagnosed with developmental disabilities and has the mental and physical capacities of a 10 month old. Since his birth, Carlos has received a variety of therapies and is closely monitored by a team of specialists, who track everything from his speech, to his heart, brain, hearing, and visual development. The couple’s younger son, Martin*, 9 months old, is also being tracked for potential developmental delays.
The police officer who stopped the family’s car claimed Nelson was driving over the 30-mile-per-hour speed limit, although Nelson was following other traffic. Nelson’s family watched with growing fear as the officer asked Nelson to step out of the car. Carlos, who is easily agitated because of his condition, began to yell and cry. Alicia and Martin then began to cry. Nelson pleaded with the officer to consider his family and to allow him to take his family home because his wife was unable to drive, but the officer refused. He proceeded to take Nelson into custody, leaving his wife and children behind to sit on the sidewalk with no way to get home.
Instead of processing Nelson for speeding and not having a driver’s license – the reasons the police officer gave Nelson for taking him to the station in the first place – the officer turned Nelson over to Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE officers came to take Nelson into custody, and eventually took him three hours away to Dodge County Jail in Juneau, Wisconsin, where he spent the next 51 days not knowing what his fate would be. He watched other immigrants come and go, deported en masse and worried every day that he would be next. He anguished over the possibility of being deported without the chance to say goodbye to his family or make any arrangements for their care in his absence. The most difficult moments for Nelson came at night. Prior to his detention, Nelson was Carlos’ primary comfort during the nighttime; he soothed and held Carlos when he became agitated or scared, which happened often.
Like many immigrants, Nelson came to the United States to seek a better life in 2007. Following a 2008 traffic accident in which he was injured while traveling through Ohio, Nelson was placed in removal proceedings. He failed to attend a court hearing after Alicia, who had various complications while pregnant with Carlos, was hospitalized on the same day that his hearing was scheduled. His lawyer at the time assured Nelson that his absence from court was excusable. However, an immigration judge ordered Nelson deported in his absence. It was this prior deportation order that caused complications for Nelson when he was stopped in his car in September. Despite subsequent efforts to correct his immigration situation, Nelson encountered one obstacle after another.
While in ICE custody, Nelson eventually managed to contact the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), which requested that ICE exercise prosecutorial discretion on his behalf and permit him to remain with his family in the United States, where Carlos can continue getting the type of comprehensive, quality medical care he would never be able to receive in El Salvador. NIJC’s efforts were successful and ICE granted the request, releasing Nelson to his family last week. Although Nelson no longer faces the imminent threat of deportation, the government could choose to re-open his case at any time and pursue his deportation once again. While visiting NIJC offices following his release, Nelson expressed his concern over the many others like him who would not be fortunate enough to receive the assistance of NIJC and he hoped that other families, like his, would be able to remain together this holiday season and for years to come.
Indeed, the total number of deportations thus far in 2011 reflects Nelson’s fears: nearly 400,000—an all-time high. Despite the Obama administration’s announcement of an initiative to suspend deportations for individuals such as Nelson, that mandate remains unfulfilled due to agency inefficiency and inconsistency, as well as a lack of political will to confront and remedy the immigration crisis.
*Names have been changed to protect the individuals’ identities
Claudia Valenzuela is the associate director of litigation at NIJC. She was one of the attorneys that worked on Nelson's case and helped him get relief.