Compassion for a young family

Last night, a group of local bloggers had an opportunity to meet Claudia Nunez. Her story has been reported, and quite well, by P.J. Tobia of the Nashville Scene, and by Amy Vitteri of Channel 2 news. In our fast-paced world, a story like this passes us by and rarely leaves a lasting impression. However, when reasonable people come face to face with the realities of a broken system, when the tragedy is not abstract, but flesh and blood, and seated three feet away, it tends to linger in your mind much longer. Sometimes, it compels people to take action. A couple of the bloggers have initiated an online petition, while others will hand-carry the same petition around to garner support for this young, scared family. Mrs. Nunez' attorney and myself will launch the paper petition at the TIRRC Annual Convention this Saturday. We will have a booth set-up, so please come by and offer support to Mrs. Nunez if you attend the meeting. I will link to the online petition when it goes live, but here I think is the final draft:

To District Director Stella Jarina,

We the undersigned are petitioning you so that you might take into consideration the case of Claudia Nunez. Mrs. Nunez is a mother of two, and wife to an immigrant here legally. Five years ago Claudia came to the United States on a visitation Visa from El Salvador. Since that time, the situation in El Salvador has become increasingly dangerous for returning Immigrants. According to some accounts The Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), which formed in America, and has since spread to El Salvador, have been accused of beating, raping, and in some case murdering immigrants who have been deported from the United States back into El Salvador. Because of the potential threat to Mrs. Nunez, and also because Mrs. Nunez has no support structure to return to in El Salvador, we request that the case of Claudia Nunez be administratively closed until such time that the either the situation in El Salvador improves, or that she has the ability to petition the US Government for legal immigration status.

Claudia Nunez is not a violent criminal, she is simply a mother who is trying to raise her daughters and live in peace. Claudia was arrested on a minor traffic violation, driving without a license, and because she tried to do the right thing and appear in court, she is now faced with deportation. We the undersigned simply ask that you take into consideration the extraordinary circumstances surrounding her case, and decide to focus on more dangerous illegal immigrants currently going through the system. Please allow Mrs. Nunez's daughters, who are American Citizens, to grow up with their mother in this their birth country.

UPDATE! PLEASE GO SIGN THE PETITION HERE!