A young girl and her father are facing deportation months after the girl and her sister were struck by a hit-and-run driver in Chicago.
The two young sisters were run over while walking to school shortly after 7:20 p.m. on February 20 in Englewood by a driver that then fled. Authorities released a picture of the vehicle they believe was involved in the crash; however, an arrest has still not been made.
Both girls survived, but one of them, a 6-year-old, lost a kidney and will need medical treatment for the rest of her life.
Then, exactly five months later, the 6-year-old girl and her father, Fredy Camacho, received a deportation order. In addition to facing separation from their family and life as they know it, the girl’s access to medical care is also at risk.
The family came to the U.S. from Venezuela two years ago in search of a better future, and if forced to return, Camacho says his daughter’s medication would be a lot more expensive.
While they are supposed to speak before a judge days before the date their deportation is set for, the situation has preoccupied the father, who is worried his family will end up separated.
The family says when they got to the U.S., they turned themselves in at the border to ask for asylum. Along with the deportation order, Camacho received an appointment with ICE.
Carla Casas, a Chicago immigration attorney who is not connected to the case, said it wasn’t previously common for a person to be given a deportation order and an appointment with ICE, so it’s still somewhat unclear what exactly ICE wants from the appointment or will take place. Casas said she expects they are monitoring people who have been served deportation orders so they can check on any plans that have been made to leave or to appeal to ensure compliance.
The daughter may be eligible for a U visa, which is a visa for victims of crimes in the U.S., but it’s not a straight-forward pathway and it’s not guaranteed the family would be able to stay too, Casas said.
“U visas are definitely taking a very long time, so there’s no guarantee that that’s necessarily going to be able to keep them here. However, for a lot of people, the U visa is a way for them to be to return to the US in the future. But this is very case by case,” Casas said. “The most important thing is for them to see if she could qualify for a U visa to at least get on that path. And once you take the first step, then they can figure out what other options might be in terms of having them stay here.”
They spoke with an attorney who helped them with the hit-and-run but still don’t have legal representation for their immigration case.
Camacho has until August 20 to appeal the deportation order.
ICE did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
from NBC Chicago https://ift.tt/xKX5Lib
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