Let Salma Stay

It has been my pleasure and honor to come to know the Sikander family over the past week or so.
I wish it could have been under better circumstances.

A couple of weeks ago,  one of our Field Reps, Shane, came to us with a concern.
One of our members, Eric Maroney, had a former student who’s mother was about to deported.
I met Eric at a rally outside the ICE office in downtown Hartford the following week.  He introduced me to Samir, his student, an impressive 18 year old young man about to start his first year at Quinnipiac University, fulfilling a dream of his parents, Anwar and Salma.
Anwar is a warm, gentle man who immediately made me feel like a guest. Several times he thanked me for coming and speaking on behalf of AFT, calling me Mr John.
Salma is quiet, polite, and warm.

Anwar and Salma came to this country 18 years ago from Bangladesh. They are seeking asylum.
They have both worked hard, never had any legal trouble and have raised a fine son and contribute to their community , their state, and their country.
They are as much American as any of us, save the paperwork.
Samir was born here.
ICE was going to deport Salma 4 days before her son started college.

The Rally was to attempt to reverse the decision and delay deportation, something well within ICE’s ability to do.
Yesterday, Salma had her last reporting to ICE. She was told she had till Thursday to leave the country. Her appeals and the appeals of the community and many, many politicians, had gone unheard.
Yesterday 9 members of her family and the community began a 48 hour fast outside the federal courthouse where ICE is located.
Last night they slept on the sidewalk in tents.

I stopped by today to do a wellness check at their request. I took vital signs and asked about medications and how they were feeling, advising them to drink plenty of water, which is all they were taking in.
It was both inspiring and depressing.

It’s sad what our country has become.

Samir told me that we had wanted to participate in the fast but that his mother forbid it.
“I have to obey my mother, especially now, on what may be one of her last days here.”

I ask you.
Isn’t this the kind of family we want in America?

Today, just before 5 pm, at about the last possible moment that they could, ICE reversed their decision.
Salma can stay for a year so that her asylum case can be heard.
I don’t know if it was the rallies, the political pressure, the fast, or all this and more…..
But Salma can stay.
She will see her son go to college.
And we are all better for it.

We are all children of immigrants.  All of our families came to this continent seeking a better life for our families. When we forget that, we lose an important part of what makes us Americans.