Washington Family Granted Green Cards

Mr. Washington asks to meet with S.F. Mayor, says Failure to Implement Due Process Policy Hurts Families

The Washington family.

From Asian Law Caucus

April 21, 2010

San Francisco – Today, the Washington family received news that Ms. Tracey Washington and her son have been approved for legal residency and will not be deported to Australia. Also today, husband Charles Washington sent a letter to Mayor Gavin Newsom expressing disappointment at his failure to reach out to the family during their time of need and his continuing refusal to enforce the youth due process policy passed by a veto-proof majority of the Board of Supervisors in November 2009. The full text of the letter is below.

The family is elated to learn that they will be able to stay together. At the same time, the Washingtons recognize that this joyous news is a singular exception to a harsh rule. “Our family’s luck in this case was unique, but Mr. Newsom, the pain we felt when our family was facing deportation as a result of your policy is not unique at all,” Washington said in the letter. “We share the pain felt by the many other families whose children were taken into ICE custody and ordered deported as a result of your policy.”

Background

The Washington family’s nightmare began when their 13-year-old boy was reported by juvenile probation to ICE for a minor bullying incident where he took 46 cents from another youth, and then gave it back and apologized. Pursuant to Mayor Newsom’s draconian reporting policy, implemented in July 2008, the boy was reported to ICE right after arrest before he even had a chance for his case to be heard in juvenile court.

Despite the family’s eligibility for Lawful Permanent Resident status (green cards) based on the mother’s marriage to Mr. Charles Washington, a U.S. citizen and long-time San Francisco resident, ICE exercised its authority to order Ms. Washington and her 13-year-old son deported to Australia on February 5, 2010, the same day they picked the boy up from juvenile detention. With no other legal options available, the Washington family held a press conference on March 1, 2010, to plead for a stay of the deportation.

On March 3, 2010, following a flurry of media attention, ICE extended the deportation date for Ms. Washington and her 13-year-old son to allow them an opportunity to get their green card applications reviewed and approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

On April 21, Ms. Washington and her son’s green card applications were approved. “We really appreciate that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services was willing to look at our individual circumstances and approve our residency application, so that our family can stay together. At the same time, my heart goes out to the many other families who were harmed by the Mayor’s policy and have not been as fortunate to receive a reprieve,” said Ms. Washington.

Angela Chan, a staff attorney at the nonprofit Asian Law Caucus who assisted the Washington family, added, “This one story has a happy ending, but many other families have and continue to be broken up by harsh immigration laws, lack of access to affordable legal services, and Mayor Newsom’s order to hand over youth for deportation before their day in court. Newsom’s policy exacerbates the impact of a broken federal immigration system on San Francisco families. We need humane reform at the federal level, but in the meantime, Mayor Newsom needs to take a stand today for due process and family unity by ending San Francisco’s draconian policy.”

–Letter to Mayor Newsom from Washington Family–

April 21, 2010

Mayor Gavin Newsom
City Hall, Room 200
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102

RE: Unjust Policy Regarding Undocumented Youth in San Francisco

Dear Mayor Newsom,

My name is Charles Washington. I was born and raised in San Francisco, and am a long-time resident of this great city. I also am a city employee. I love the city of San Francisco and my family has developed strong roots here. Unfortunately, last month, we went through a horrible ordeal when my wife and step-son were ordered deported as a result of your policy, which requires reporting of youth to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) right after arrest, before the youth even has a chance to have a hearing in juvenile court regarding the charges.

As you may have read in the news, my 13-year-old son was arrested and reported to ICE for deportation over 46 cents in a minor, first-time bullying case. In accordance with your policy, San Francisco juvenile probation officers reported my son to ICE before the allegations could even be adjudicated by a juvenile court judge. To my shock, my wife also was ordered deported by ICE as a result of the reporting of my son by juvenile probation in keeping with your policy.

With the imminent deportation hanging over my wife and son’s heads, we were utterly terrified that our family would be torn apart. Since we had no other legal remedies when our request for a stay of deportation was denied, we desperately reached out to the media to seek help in a last ditch effort. Fortunately, a reporter contacted the White House, which then resulted in an extension of the deadline for the deportation. However, I must tell you that during this time, we were really disappointed that we did not receive a single call or any type of outreach from your office to offer my family support, especially when my son’s referral to ICE was a direct consequence of your policy.

I also would like to express my deep disappointment in the statements your office issued after my family was granted the reprieve through no help from your office. Your office made statements to the press suggesting that our situation proves your policy leads to just outcomes. I completely disagree with this assertion and firmly believe that our being granted the reprieve has proven even more so that your policy hurts families and tears children away from their parents for minor, first-time offenses. The White House seems to understand the importance of keeping families together in granting the reprieve. Unfortunately, your office appears to have missed this completely. It is extremely hurtful to our family that you would try to claim credit for the positive turn in events that my family and the community supporting us worked hard to obtain in order to combat the injustice brought upon us by the policy you implemented in the first place.

Let me also say that my family was lucky, but there are many other families who have not been as fortunate. There was no handbook to tell us what to do to obtain a reprieve when we were in this crisis. It just so happened that we were able to obtain legal assistance, but what if we had been unable to find legal services or if the press had not covered our story? My wife and son would have been torn from me and there is nothing I could have done to stop it from happening. Families in San Francisco should not have to struggle or rely on luck to stay together. In fact, there have been over a hundred families in this city who have not been as fortunate as my family since your harsh and inhumane policy was implemented in 2008. Our family’s luck in this case was unique, but Mr. Newsom, the pain we felt when our family was facing deportation as a result of your policy is not unique at all. We share the pain felt by the many other families whose children were taken into ICE custody and ordered deported as a result of your policy.

Mr. Newsom, I know that you are a new father yourself and will teach your own daughter many lessons in her lifetime. I respectfully ask you to reexamine your policy from the eyes of a father, the way that I am looking at my son today. While I must say that I am greatly disappointed in the actions you have taken to support a flawed policy that has endangered the children of this city, I do hope that you will take this opportunity to do the right thing and support implementation of Supervisor Campos’ due process amendment, which is now city law. Families like mine, who are hard-working and rooted in San Francisco, are depending on you to do what is right and to follow the law the community passed in November 2009.

I respectfully request a meeting with you, in which my lawyer, Angela Chan from the Asian Law Caucus, and my family can speak with you about this policy and how it has affected us and continues to impact families in San Francisco. Please respond by e-mailing my lawyer at angelac@asianlawcaucus.org or calling her at (415) 848-7719.

Sincerely,

Charles Washington

FCJ Editor

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