NEW INTRODUCTION

After inaction from Utah politicians, I am updating this petition to recognize the leaders who have shown what real courage looks like in the face of family separation. When a Minnesota child was taken by ICE, the people who reunited him were not all from Minnesota. It took a coalition across states. Rep. Joaquin Castro and Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas traveled directly to the detention center and demanded the child’s release. Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota elevated the case, applied pressure, and stood with the family from the Minnesota side. Their actions proved that when a family is harmed, real leadership has no borders. This is the kind of leadership I am calling on now, as my own family continues to suffer from a separation that began during the first Trump administration.

BACKGROUND

My immigration story in Utah started back at Weber State University,The You are welcome to read from other online sources: More on this story here. Or here! The University has since deleted the online articles linking to the events, but the trauma the situation caused me remains. The University's damage caused my dependents, including Chris, my son, to lose their immigration status. He was covered under DACA when Obama was President. However, when Trump took over, there was a timeframe during which USCIS returned my son's DACA application due to "policy changes."

WSU story on Tiktok here: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPd2wnbh8/ If you open the "I Oppose Injustice" and "Blasphemy" playlists, you'll see the rest of the videos recording the hate attacks I overcame in Utah. Thank you.

What the community needs to know:

1.Utah Sim Gill's Office framed my son for a deportable crime and then failed to appear. I say frame because he claimed my son committed a crime. At least two times, Utah Sim Gill's Office failed to appear, and the judge dismissed the case.. How the framing happened

2. Many of my son's experiences connect to his being a Black man. Considering the stories we hear about police brutality and disparate treatment of Black and Brown men in the US, my son's case should not have been managed in Utah by the people constantly trying to destroy his mother's life. Utah's racist past is its present !

3. My son is one of the patients in Utah who has been harmed by opioid misprescriptions. Utah DA Sim Gill filed a lawsuit and collected funds for this injury. Unfortunately, the Utah government triggered his deportation. ICE's deportation ignored my son' Utah opioid injuries,  shifting the burden onto me and my over-80-year-old mother  Chris is doing well.  Please tell Utah government officials that this is hate and it needs to stop immediately.  More here on Free Money

4. Many women have to make difficult choices after rape. After my ex raped me, I chose to keep my son (I am not assigning a value to how other women make choices - just sharing my experience). My son is away every family gathering and holiday season, and the rape and other Utah wounds have become new. It's the time when my PTSD trauma multiplies. Tell Utah Government officials you are aware they did not create my PTSD. But also let them know they have made it worse.

5. Matt Hall is the Utah ICE Government Immigration Attorney.  Learn about Matt Hall here   Utah ICE denied my son a hearing and deported him with the injuries he sustained in Utah without the family saying goodbye! Matt Hall is the exact attorney who lost to the Board of Immigration Appeals his battle to try to deport me in a case sparked by Weber State's "computer glitch." Stop Utah ICE from doing more harm!

6. I called Mitt Romney's and Spencer Cox's offices, explaining that the family separation caused by Utah ICE exacerbates my PTSD. I explained that I believe that deporting my son is retaliation at many levels, including the one I listed above. They said they would step in once I filed a USICIS petition for my son. I did and informed them about the filing. They have not responded to my emails and phone calls. Here is the email address of the individual I spoke with, Jessica at Jessica_Christopher@lee-romney.senate.gov. And here is what Jessica said on Tuesday, the 11th of May, 2021, at 12:43 am: "I did check with my colleagues who also work on immigration issues to see if they saw any way we could help. After reviewing the information you provided, they agreed that unless an application is pending with USCIS or the State Department, there is nothing we can do at this time. " Please ask them to follow through on their promise in this email. Note: Mitt Romney Spoke for Harsh Treatment Towards Migrants

7. Utah Government claims a "compassionate stance" towards migrant families. Yet, they are outspoken about minimizing mental health support for PTSD patients and others. Where is their compassion? Why are they destroying non-white families, destabilizing their mental health?

8. Ask them to face the truth. Address the root cause of the problem. For example, Utah ICE did not need to deport my son. DHS had allowed him to stay in the country when Obama was President. The same conditions that allowed his stay then should have allowed him to stay when Trump was the President, but that did not occur.

9. My son does not deserve this cruelty! I do not deserve this hate! Dealing with PTSD triggers is difficult, but having a government exacerbate mental illness should be objectionable.
Please call or write them about the reunion date with my son. You can give them my contact information: vsethunya@gmail.com or 801-462-9030.

https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdjNhLaA/

Thank you!

Sincerely, 

Victoria Sethunya

Governor Spencer Cox:
801-538-1000
Senator Mitt Romney:
(801)- 524-4380
(202)- 224-5251

Email Romney: Jessica_Christopher@lee-romney.senate.gov