Letter of the day: She's free, until she's deported, as per U.S. immigration law

Last update: October 27, 2009 - 7:31 PM

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Hoa Nguyen is out of immigration jail at Sherburne County because heavy hitters and a multitude of friends complained publicly to immigration that a noncriminal, college-educated, spouse of a U.S. citizen need not be held in jail for months with convicted criminals while awaiting deportation. Most people don't have the resources like Hoa to convince politicians that jail is not necessary for most of those ordered to leave the United States. And, more important, when she is in Vietnam, she will have a hard fight ahead to get back here before 2019 because our law requires her to be gone 10 years unless she can prove extreme hardship to her newly wedded husband. And, get this: Immigration law does not consider a husband and wife being separated for 10 years by 10,000 miles to be extreme hardship. Our politicians need to do more than piecemeal pressure; they need to fundamentally change the law so U.S. citizens don't face a decade separated from their loved ones.

RICHARD BREITMAN, MINNEAPOLIS

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