Immigration Clinic Wins Stay of Removal for Client
The UC Davis School of Law Immigration Clinic won an impressive victory last week, gaining a one-year stay of removal for a 77-year-old widow facing deportation.
The woman, who came to the United States in 1979 and became a Lawful Permanent Resident in 1989 under the Special Agricultural Worker (SAW) program, was deemed to have abandoned her residence in the United States. She accompanied her ailing husband to Mexico for medical treatment in 1996 and unexpectedly remained there until 2002, as her husband died and her own health deteriorated. Though she considered it her moral duty to care for her husband, she always intended to continue residing in the U.S. Upon her return, she was interrogated by immigration officials, who paroled her to the U.S. for deportation. The Immigration Judge found the widow to have abandoned her residence in the United States. The Immigration Clinic appealed the decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which affirmed the Immigration Judge's holding, then asked for review in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which was denied in November. The Clinic then applied for an administrative stay of removal. The Field Office Director of the Office of Detention and Removal Operations in Sacramento granted the stay of removal last week on the basis of the client's numerous health problems. Stays of removal are rarely granted except in exceptional circumstances and for humanitarian reasons.
Professor Amagda Perez, director of the Clinic, said that thanks were due to many who donated their time to the case, including Immigration Clinic alumni Mary Waltermire ‘95, Daniel Torres ‘02, Erin Hernandez ‘08, and Sarah Kate Heilbrun '03.