Friend,
After fleeing years of horrific abuse in her home country of Guatemala, Maribel Lopez was finally protected from deportation from the United States thanks to a pending asylum appeal.
A mother of three, Maribel worked from 4:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on the wrapping line at a nutrition-bar factory in rural New York. The job was a fresh start after years of abuse and an opportunity for her and her children to live safe, free, and with dignity.
Words cannot express her shock and terror when armed agents appeared at her workplace and divided workers into U.S. citizens and immigrants. Despite presenting a work permit, Social Security card and a letter from her lawyer stating Maribel had a pending asylum appeal and was “lawfully in the United States and [could not] be removed,” Maribel was detained.
Her harrowing story is highlighted in a New York Times article published on today’s front page. Even though she begged to make arrangements for her children, including her two-year-old son, Maribel was ignored and transported to a border facility in McAllen, Texas. Soon after, she was deported back to Guatemala. All of this happened in less than four days.
