One of the most heart-breaking tasks Ashley ever faced was explaining to her 4-year-old son why his father, an undocumented immigrant, faces possible deportation after being arrested by federal agents last month, the American woman said during a Feb. 6 press call.
Ashley DeAzevedo
“It’s just very, very hard to explain. He’s asking every question in his head and it’s hard because you don’t want to tell him the wrong thing. You kind of have to lie to him because he wants all the details and you don’t really have the answers, or you do have the answers but you don’t want to tell him,” said Ashley, whose full name and those of her husband, José, and three young children were withheld pending the outcome of the case.
The Zoom meeting with reporters was arranged by America’s Voice and included remarks by Ashley DeAzevedo, president of American Families United. and Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, the attorney representing José. They underscored the terrifying legal and emotional realities mixed-status families are enduring under Donald Trump’s mass immigration crackdown.
“Across the country, American families are living in a constant state of fear, not because they’ve done anything wrong, but because they chose to love someone from another country,” DeAzevedo said. “The United States has long prided itself on family values, on freedom and on justice. But today, mixed-status families are watching those values erode before their eyes under this administration.”
“Across the country, American families are living in a constant state of fear.”
Ashely said the ordeal began about three weeks ago when the family was pulled over by a police officer in Lubbock, Texas, due to what he described as an unregistered license plate. It took only a few minutes for the officer to learn José was driving without a license and was an undocumented immigrant from Central America.
When Ashely explained her husband was driving because she could not, the officer went briefly to his vehicle and returned a short time later with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. José was detained but released a few hours later with orders to check in regularly with ICE and to appear for a deportation hearing as early as the spring.
“And I’m trying to explain to my 4-year-old that his dad only has a passport. My son knows what immigration is. My son knows what a passport is, but he does not understand that his dad’s here illegally, so he’s crying. He has asthma, and I’m trying to calm him down before he ends up going into an asthma attack.”
Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch
The boy and her two younger children are now fearful anytime someone comes to their home, especially her son. “Every single time there’s a knock at the door he’s coming to my room whispering, ‘Mommy, immigration’s here.’ And that can happen. It’s happening more and more every single day.”
Lincoln-Goldfinch said the case shows the detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants is not being limited to criminals because José never has been arrested and has no criminal record.
“Ashley and her husband, José, had already hired a law firm to get him his green card,” she explained. “They were going through the process. They were doing everything the proper way. And now because of this incident, José has been placed into deportation proceedings, the family has been traumatized and this is one more person in the already backlogged immigration court system unnecessarily.”
“They were going through the process. They were doing everything the proper way.”
However, there is a strong possibility José may avoid deportation because his green-card process is continuing, she said. “He ultimately is still eligible because he is married to a U.S. citizen. But the question of exactly how that happens and in what order is going to be up to the judge.”
Although Trump was sent back to the White House largely with support of evangelical Christians, polling data show those same evangelicals do not support Trump’s hard line on immigration — especially family separations.
A new survey by Lifeway Research found American evangelicals oppose immigration policies that result in family separations, with 90% supporting reforms that protect the unity of immediate families. Similarly, 90% said new legislation must also respect the “God-given dignity of every person.”
Almost three-quarters expressed support for legislation establishing pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, while 76% agreed changes in immigration laws should enhance border security and enable unauthorized immigrants to earn legal status enroute to full citizenship.
It’s time for government to get in line with people of faith on these issues, said Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals.
“Evangelical Christians believe marriage and family are gifts instituted by God for human flourishing and are foundational for vibrant communities. No society that deliberately breaks up families — whether of immigrants or citizens — can long prosper,” he said. “A sound pro-family policy can maintain national security and offer alternatives to deportation for mixed status families and legal channels for refugees and immigrants to reunite.”
The views of evangelicals documented in the Lifeway study reflect those of Latino Christians as well, said Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition.
“Latino evangelicals — like evangelicals as a whole — support the deportation of those convicted of violent crimes, but the prioritization of other immigrants for deportation — including those who have been in the country for several years, those with U.S. citizen children and those who would be willing to pay a fine as a part of a legalization process — is unpopular with the vast majority of evangelical Christians.”
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