Thread: Immigrant fights to stay

www.gazette.com

August 20, 2005

Immigrant fights to stay


By LISA MARTÃ?NEZ THE GAZETTE

The battle isn’t over, but Nelly Madore’s fight to become a U.S. citizen is getting attention from some high-powered officials.

The Mexican Consulate in Denver has hired a lawyer to present Madore’s case to an immigration judge in the near future. Madore says she is a victim of domestic abuse; a provision in immigration law protects foreigners from deportation if they leave abusive spouses.

Most battered immigrants are afraid to report abuse to police, let alone the consulate or immigration officials who might deport them, said Maria Guerra, Madore’s case manager at TESSA, a domestic violence and sexual assault prevention center in Colorado Springs.

Madore spent much of the past year telling her story to the media, politicians, domestic abuse case workers and the consulate. Her persistence began to pay off when, after she was evicted from her house in March, she landed in a safe house for abused women and then a shelter.

“I have this feeling that I am going to make it,� said Madore, 41, who speaks limited English. “Before, I didn’t believe good things could happen to me. Now I’m starting to have faith.�

Madore’s U.S. dream â€â€

[quote]She didn’t think much about her legal status when her visa expired â€â€

Yeah, what does her husband having a job have to do with her overstaying her visa!

I feel sorry for her being abused but in Spanish culture women are treated like dogs. I've had friends travel to Spain and tell me that women get beaten in public all the time over there.

DEPORT DEPORT DEPORT