Accompanied by lawmakers and community leaders, Anderson, identified only by his first name for security reasons, asked for support on Wednesday, September 17, for his wife and six-year-old daughter, who were deported to Venezuela this week.
Ydienays Dariana Dominguez, 26, and her six-year-old daughter Zoeh were deported after attending a routine appointment with immigration authorities on Monday, September 14.
Anderson was at a Siembra NC press conference at Eastway Park, a place the family frequented and where Zoeh used to play after school. There, she shared the pain she has experienced since her family's separation.
“What happened to them was an injustice. They showed no respect.” Your rights. “They weren’t even allowed to say goodbye to me or tell me if they were okay,” said Anderson, 28.
How they ended up being deported
According to information shared at the press conference, Ydienays and Zoeh were in asylum application processOn July 9th they attended a virtual audience before an immigration judge, but according to the organizers, the judge never showed up.
Days later, the mother received a deportation order for allegedly failing to appear.
Despite that situation, Ydienays continued to attend his immigration control appointments while attempting to appeal the decision through an “advisor”.
On Monday, September 14, Ydienays went to another appointment at a immigration office accompanied by her daughter, while Anderson waited outside, as on previous occasions.
However, after about an hour, he received a message from his wife asking him to leave. Anderson later learned that no appeal had been filed.
In an interview with Enlace Latino NC The Venezuelan man recounted that shortly afterwards he received another call from an immigration agent informing him that his wife had been detained and would be transferred to Texas.
That night he spoke to her for a few minutes, but then lost all communication.
On Wednesday, September 16, he learned, through family members, that Ydeinays and the girl had been deported to Venezuela.
“I don’t want another family to go through this.”
Anderson stated that the most difficult thing has been not knowing directly how his wife and daughter are doing.
“All I want is to hear from Zoeh and my wife. I want to know how they are. I haven’t heard from them in three days. I’m speaking out here because I have to be strong for them, but I don’t want any other family to go through what I’m going through,” he said.
Anderson told us that his family has been living in the United States for almost three years, that he works as a barber, that his wife worked in a bodega, and that Zoeh had just started first grade at the Sugar Creek charter school.
Sowing: “This family fell into the cracks of the system”
Andreina Malki, defense manager of Siembra NCHe stated that the case reflects the problems many immigrant families face when trying to comply with the immigration system.
“Every day we hear about families trying to follow the rules, attending their appointments, and doing everything required, yet still ending up detained and separated from their loved ones,” she said. “At some point in this complicated process, this family fell into every loophole in the system,” she added.
Malki also called on the community to provide financial support to the family.
Lawmakers call for respect for due process
La state representative Julia Greenfield asserted that the case highlights the need to guarantee due process for immigrant families.
“We are not asking anyone to break the law. All we are asking for is respect for due process, and this family did not receive it,” he stated.
Greenfield added that she will continue working to support the family and questioned why a six-year-old girl was deported after attending school while her mother was going through the asylum process.
For his part, the state representative Jordan Lopez He stated that, although immigration policies are the responsibility of the federal government, the case highlights the human consequences of a system that, he said, does not function properly.
“As a legislator, I understand that the laws must be applied. But as a human being and as the uncle of a six-year-old girl, I cannot imagine what it means for a minor to be separated from the place she considers her home,” he stated.
López concluded by assuring that he will continue to support Anderson and other families going through similar situations.
Other people present, including local officials, religious leaders, and representatives of community organizations, also expressed their support for Anderson and requested that the case of the mother and her daughter be reviewed.
While waiting to speak with them again, Anderson says she remains hopeful.
“I’m not going to give up. I’m going to keep going. I have faith and hope that I’ll see them again,” he said.
If you would like to help this family
With the title: “Help my family rebuild after deportation”, Anderson P. created a fundraiser in the GoFundMe platform, hoping to raise funds to help Ydienays and Zoeh in Venezuela, a country they left three years ago.
“Now our family is separated and Ydienays and Zoeh have to start from scratch, with practically nothing. They need a safe place to live, transportation, food and other basic necessities, as well as help so Zoeh can return to school and regain some stability,” the GoFundMe post reads.
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