Allison Bustillo Chinchilla, a young nurse from Charlotte who is being held in an immigration detention center in Georgia, successfully persuaded an immigration judge to grant her relief similar to voluntary departure, instead of deportation, which will eventually allow her to return to the United States without facing the 10-year ban.
Allison, 20, who has been detained for six months at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, was about to give up her fight to avoid deportation due to her health condition and the unsanitary conditions of the detention center., but surprisingly she was notified the same day that she would have this hearing on Tuesday, August 26.
She had been arrested at her home in Charlotte on the morning of February 20, while she was looking after her three younger siblings, the least of whom had autism, and while her mother was at work.
The chaotic arrest was carried out by heavily armed ICE agents who stormed into the apartment while searching for someone else.
Judge grants Allison's request
Keily Chinchilla, her mother, was able to watch the the hearing on her cell phone through the Webex platform, which she said, lasted for an hour.
“They brought her to court with almost no notice. She was desperate; she couldn't take it anymore. The government lawyer told her she was going to be removed from the country, but she asked the judge to grant her voluntary departure, which was the least they could do for her,” Keily told Enlace Latino NC.
Allison said that “ICE broke her dreams of continuing her studies.” The young woman had graduated as a nursing assistant and obtained a scholarship of $60,000 to attend Gardner-Webb University.
She will be able to return without any punishment
The case was in the hands of attorney Marty Rosembluth, who had filed a last resort to avoid deportation asylum application.
“Allison wanted to leave the country in a way that would allow her to return, because her mother is in the process of applying for a green card. And when her mother gets it, she can apply for Allison to return,” Rosembluth told Enlace Latino NC.
The attorney explained that Allison wasn't eligible for voluntary departure because she was classified as an illegal immigrant, but what was achieved with the judge is practically the same, as she will have the same benefits, meaning she will be able to leave without a removal order on a commercial flight and will not receive the 10-year ban.
Frustration remains
However, Keily isn't entirely happy with her daughter's decision, as she didn't want her to have to leave the country.
“I am frustrated after so much struggle, and that they did not allow her to stay in the country, because she does not have offenses "And she's been a good person and student. Now she'll have to return to Honduras, a country she doesn't know and where her life could be in danger," her mother said.
A habeas corpus was sought
In the fight this mother undertook to prevent her daughter from being deported, she hired attorney Helen Parsonage to file a petition for "Habeas corpus".
She says she felt frustrated after paying $3,500 for the petition, claiming that the lawyer filed it shortly before the hearing.
"My daughter would have been able to get out, because the arrest was illegal. They broke into my house looking for someone else," she said.
An petition for habeas corpus allows a court to review a person's arrest or confinement. It could have allowed Allison to appear before a judge to determine whether her detention was unlawful and possibly secure her release.
Public pressure would have been key
Parsonage said that shortly before Allison made the difficult decision to end his legal fight, a petition for habeas corpus was filed in federal court asking a judge to order her release
“The petition would have been referred to ICE in Atlanta and the Stewart Detention Center. Habeas corpus petitions can take weeks to be resolved,” Parsonage told Enlace Latino NC.
“But due to public attention and the impending habeas corpus case, ICE relented and withdrew its objection, allowing Allison to be granted voluntary departure without a deportation order,” he added.
The lawyer said that Allison's case shows the impact of the policies of indiscriminate deportation that target members of the immigrant community.
"The government's claim that they are only targeting criminals is clearly false," he emphasized.
Facing an uncertain return
Although the exact date of Allison's departure is not yet known, which could be as soon as this week, the young woman will have to return to Honduras , the country she left when she was 8 years old, where he will live with her maternal grandparents and start over.
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