A Woman’s Plight for Help

Father’s deportation could separate family from their deceased soldier daughter

By Andres Gonzalez

Far from the waving American flags, the “Immigration Reform Now” banners and the 3,000 or so people cheering at the D.C. immigration rally on Oct. 13, a woman’s stories exemplified the plight of families separated by immigration. Olivia Segura begged to keep her family together and prevent the deportation of her imprisoned husband.

Olivia Segura, 42, is in danger of losing her husband. The threat is not from illness or imminent danger, but from lacking the coveted paperwork to stay in this country.

Segura and her 15-year-old son, Kyle Segura, traveled, from Dekalb, Ill., to Washington, D.C. for an immigration-reform rally looking for legislative help that will prevent the deportation of Alberto Segura.

Olivia’s life has been anything but easy since her husband’s conviction. In August, she had gallbladder surgery while Kyle, had a surgery for his appendicitis on September. She was given six months to either sell or foreclose her house. Without the economic support that her husband and deceased daughter provided, Segura will lose her household, and with it the last memories of her daughter.

Segura’s 39-year-old spouse, Alberto, retreated to alcohol to cope with the loss of his daughter, Ashley Siestema, 20, who was serving with the National Guard in Kuwait and was killed when the military ambulance she was driving rolled over while transporting patients to a nearby health center.

“When I received the notification, I felt devastated,” Segura said, whose eyes watered as she recounted a story she has told many times before. “I wanted to die.”

Trying to recover from “the loss of our daughter, whom we loved more than our own lives,” Mrs. Segura began to take sleeping pills while her husband, Mr. Segura, fell deeper into his own despair.

Kyle Segura, who was also grieving for his sister, said he was irritated by the way his parents dealt with their sorrow.

“One day, I found my dad drunk and I yelled at him because I was tired of it all,” he said. After the confrontation, Mr. Segura, who had already been charged twice with DUI left the house after drinking heavily on Jan. 1, 2009.

Just days after, the family learned that their father had been sentenced to three years in the Stateville Correctional Center after being arrested and charged a third time for driving under the influence. Mr. Segura pleaded guilty in a deal to lower his sentence from three to one year, Mrs. Segura said.

Prepared to live out his sentence, Mr. Segura’s troubles were not over. The worst came when officials from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement informed Alberto that he would be deported back to Mexico following his Jan. 5, 2010 release. Mrs. Segura said Alberto was not tried in court and that without the money to hire a lawyer, Segura was defenseless.

“Kyle wakes at night, is failing in school and feels guilty for his father’s conviction,” she said.

Mrs. Segura said she is not asking for amnesty for her husband’s misdemeanor charges but believes her daughter’s sacrifice is sufficient to save them from displacement. Her husband “should be in prison because he is paying for what he did,” she said.” Neverthless, should Mr. Segura be deported, the whole family must relocate to Mexico. Relocating means leaving her daughter in the U.S., said Ms. Segura.

“After my daughter gave her life for this country, why can’t [government officials] help us in keeping my husband here, where my daughter is buried?” she said. “I used to believe America was a land of opportunities. Now, I don’t think America stands for the equality it promises.”

The National Guard offered Segura only psychological assistance because her daughter’s husband received all the benefits, according to Mrs. Segura. If a loan modification is not approved, Mrs. Segura could lose her home in six months, according to documents from Bank of America and Litton Loan Servicing.

Losing her house means being deprived of the last memories she possesses of her daughter Ashley.

“When I feel alone, I go to her room. I see the walls that she painted with her hands, her clothes, her bed, and I feel she is there with me,” her mother said.

Although Mrs. Segura is afraid of losing the economic stability she once achieved, she is most concerned with losing the connection to her daughter.

“I don’t really care if we lose everything we have. We can start all over again, but I don’t want to lose my daughter again by leaving the place where she was buried.”

Her story represents one of the many families that are separated by immigration policies, one of the core principles of Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) newly unveiled bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Right now, our broken immigration system keeps too many American families apart for years and even decades,” Gutierrez wrote explaining the outline of his bill. “We need a system predicated on family values … [and] that keeps families strong and, most importantly, keeps husbands and wives, parents and children together.”

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Posted by admin on Dec 7 2009. Filed under National News, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry