Left Behind: How One Immigrant Was Ripped From His Home In New York

Left Behind: How One Immigrant Was Ripped From His Home In New York
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It’s a story we see all too often in the news lately- an immigrant who has lived in the United States for decades, who has done nothing besides try to create a better life for his family, who has contributed to the economy and community, now sits in a jail cell awaiting deportation. In 2017, immigration-related arrests are up 32% over this time last year. However, instead of targeting and quickly deporting gang members and felons, a common practice under the Obama administration, ICE is going after immigrants who have committed no crime. The arrested immigrants are languishing in jails awaiting their fate in a backlogged, over-taxed system.

This story is happening all around the country, and it’s currently happening to Raul Roberto Fernandez, a 64-year-old man from Long Island, New York. After 40 years of living in the United States, working, raising a family, and contributing to his community, on the morning of October 4th, police raided the family home Raul shares with his wife of 38 years, Donna. He was arrested and removed from his home half-dressed, leaving his wife alone, shocked, and scared.

No word came from Raul or the police by the following afternoon, nearly 12 hours after his arrest. His daughter, Helen, reached out to Homeland Security who finally informed her that Raul was taken by ICE and no other details could be released. At the time of his arrest, Raul had committed no crime and was being detained solely for not obtaining citizenship.

The reason this arrest came as such a shock to his wife, children, and grandchildren, who are all U.S. citizens, was because Raul has lived in the United States for nearly 40 years. His wife is a U.S. citizen, and he, like so many immigrants, believed that when you marry a United States citizen, you automatically obtain the rights to live in America. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Obtaining citizenship is lengthy and expensive and out of reach to many hard-working immigrants. The path to citizenship is paved with dollars bills and bureaucratic red tape.

While Raul waits to be deported back to Peru, a country he hasn’t stepped foot in since 1989, his family is struggling. Donna has been financially reliant on her husband’s income for 38 years while she was a homemaker and stay-at-home parent. Now, at nearly 55 years old, with no work experience or support, she’s struggling to make ends meet.

This story is happening all across the country. A nation founded on stealing the land from the Indigenous and Native people now holds the power to remove any non-citizen they choose even if they have a spouse, have children, own a business, and are an honest contributing member of society. ICE is waiting outside of schools and churches to detain people who are here solely to attain a better life for themselves and their family. They aren’t deporting the “bad hombres” bringing crime and drugs, they’re arresting and deporting hard-working people who give back to this country, often giving more than they receive.

Raul’s wife, Donna, has financially relied on her husband for 38 years and now she has to suffer not only losing her husband who will be taken to his country of origin, but now she has to figure out how to financially make it on her own - something she’s never had to do. Children are without their father and grandchildren are without their grandfather. The family that is left behind is now truly left behind. Please share Raul and Donna’s story so that more awareness is brought to this troubling issue.

Here’s where you can contribute to help Donna Fernandez pick up the pieces of their life after 38 years of being a homemaker and housewife.

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