60 Minutes on the Widow's Penalty - a MUST watch

[snake in the grass]

Run time: 10:49 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bJJUJWkRlg   Posted on YouTube: November 23, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: November 25, 2008 By DU Member: snake in the grass Views on DU: 3505

 
Dear DU brothers and sisters, I am asking you for your help.

A horribly inhumane aspect of the U.S. immigration policy was the subject of one of the reports on last night's 60 Minutes. It is called the "widow's penalty" and what it basically comes down to is, if a U.S. citizen marries a foreign national and dies before the bureaucratic process is completed, that spouse will unceremoniously be forced to leave the country under threat of deportation. At the moment, roughly 140 people are affected by this. One of them is a very good friend of mine, Monika, who is featured in the interview. This is a personal matter for me.

Ten months after meeting and three months after marrying her soulmate with one month to go before the final interview with immigration, Monika watched her husband die of a heart attack, and since then she has had no control over her life. She cannot leave the U.S. without being penalized for overstaying her visa (remember she got married legally in the U.S. but since the final stamp hasn't been made on her case file, DHS technically considers her a foreigner who has no right to be here) and she can't work here because her work permit is still pending, along with a class action suit to end this practice. The DHS argues that as these people are widowed, they are no longer spouses and have no right to stay. This cynicism makes me ill.

After 22 years in Germany, I decided to change my profession and move back to Florida to be closer to my family. My father is very ill and we are all not getting any younger. Through this turn of events, however, I am now living in Los Angeles to help her fight this injustice. Because her husband died intestate and she is not a legal resident, his family is administering the probate in accordance with California law. I can't begin to describe the cruelty and vindictive pettiness these people have inflicted upon her. I once believed such things were simply caricatures of evil, abusive greed found only in cinema. I know better now as they are very real. His family has offered no support, neither materially nor emotionally, since his death and they seek to be rid of her as quickly as possible in order to sell the house and the belongings. They even wanted to kill the dogs at one point! For them it is all about the money. Her only support comes currently from myself and her mother, who still lives in Munich, Germany. I am determined to stick this out with her until it is resolved because she is a very special and talented person who in no way deserves this treatment (not that any of these people do). Monika has often said the U.S. treats love like a crime (recently again to Prop 8 where she cried at the injustice of bigotry). I want to believe she is wrong.

Here is where you come in, my fellow brothers and sisters at DU. If you feel as strongly about this issue as I, please visit the site "Surviving Spouses Against Deportation" - http://ssad.org / and sign the petition to get HR 6034 passed. You can also contact your representatives in both houses to get them involved. I put off bringing this up during the GE for fear that it would be lost in the turmoil, but now is the time to act.

Thank you all for your support.

-Snake

[katanalori]

1. DONE

and urge others to sign the petition, takes so little time!

[snake in the grass]

2. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this.

[truedelphi]

3. K & R'ed n/t

[ksimons]

4. best of luck for your friend!

I hope they can figure out how to fix these gaps in oversight. A neighbor of mine had been kicked out of his house when his boyfriend of 16 years died (before same-sex marriage was legal- for a time) and the family moved in and took everything and kicked him out. After so many years together they were legally still considered 'co-habitating strangers'. The instance you described is equally horrifying. Glad 60 minutes brought it to the forefront. Hopefully that will get some lawmakers' attentions.

[snake in the grass]

9. Thank you.

I now live in Eagle Rock in L.A. and we also have a neighbor in that situation. The two were together for over 25 years. His partner recently died of liver cancer after suffering a very long time. The family never accepted his sexuality and they were estranged, so it was up to my neighbor to be the sole care-giver until his partner died. Within a week the family showed up and began removing furniture and valuables with no regard for this man. The deceased was evidently very much in denial about the true nature of his condition and, therefore, didn't want to write a testament. Sometimes we drink a beer together and talk about the burden. I think it does us both good. It is a similar situation, because Monika's husband, Tim, was also estranged from his family. And now these two groups of people have the legal right to determine what happens to another human being. In Monika's case they even wanted to kill the dogs so as to make it easier to sell the house. I'm 43 and have always looked much younger than my age but these past few months have really given me some grey hairs.

[MrMickeysMom]

5. Did it

Good luck, Snake

[snake in the grass]

25. Thank you, MrMickeysMom.

If Mr. Mickey is the cat depicted, I just wanted to comment on his cuteness. My girlfriend called from Berlin last night with the unfortunate news that my cat for the past 21 years, Maria, passed away due to kidney failure. I'm sorry I couldn't be there until the end for her. I've never had a cat like her before. She was a great friend and companion.

[OswegoAtheist]

6. k'd, r'd and signed

That could have been my father, and in turn, myself as well.

Oswego "Proud Immigrant, Proud Soldier" Atheist

[snake in the grass]

26. Thank you for your time.

I'm happy people are responding to this as it is a practice that is going on under the radar. Nothing cures something like this better than the sunlight that reveals it.

[bjobotts]

7. Bush's judicial and immigration appointments were unchallenged by our dem leaders.

[bjobotts]

8. I think we are seein the results here.It will take years to denazify Judicial system

[snake in the grass]

10. I think it will take...

...more like a generation to repair the damage that has been done and maybe longer before trust in the system is fully restored. The cynicism shown by Chertoff in the video makes me furious to the point of irrationality. To have such disregard for....need I say more?

[elleng]

11. Done

PS, I think the courts will kick this practice OUT!

[snake in the grass]

12. Thank you.

Yes, I would love to see them return to reason. Let's hope you are right.

[volstork]

13. Done!

K&R, too, by the way

[snake in the grass]

27. Thank you.

[YOY]

14. I croak my non-American wife would skip this country in a heartbeat.

I feel for those who would want to stay though.

[LiveLiberally]

15. Done and Thank You for Bringing Attention to this Issue n/t

[snake in the grass]

29. Thank you for taking the time to watch it.

[PatSeg]

16. I watched this Sunday night

and was outraged by yet another injustice from this horrid administration. The one woman was told her baby, a legal citizen, could stay, but she had to leave! I'm not sure what country I'm living in anymore.

I sent the email and will pass it on.

[snake in the grass]

30. Seeing Chertoff call this...

...'good lawyering' made me sick and very, very angry. These people have absolutely no heart but I find comfort in the knowledge that they will be out of a job soon and can do no more damage.

[PatSeg]

36. Oh I'm sure they will still find ways to

do damage, just not on such a wide scale.

I noticed Chertoff's insensitive remark - what hell does he mean anyway? I really don't understand what most of these people are talking about. It's like a different language.

[snake in the grass]

37. You're right.

People like that will always cause damage somewhere. Unfortunately.

[Kajsa]

17. Done!

My parents were not citizens when I was born in the US,
but they attained citizenship a few years later.

I have a dear friend in Arizona who is married to a US citizen.
She is a Swedish citizen.

I can imagine her and thousands like her going through this hell
your friend is experiencing.

This is so wrong, on so many levels.

Thanks so much for giving a voice to their struggle.

[snake in the grass]

32. I thank you...

...for taking action. I am just the messenger.

[I Have A Dream]

18. Done. nt

[snake in the grass]

33. Thank you.

[crim son]

19. Done.

There is, apparently, no form of marriage that fully satisfies our government. :sarcasm:

[snake in the grass]

28. Great response.

I get that impression, too. I have a pretty radical view on the subject for I don't think they should even be required to give an interview and prove their 'love'. U.S. citizens get married for a variety of reasons, love being one of them, and no one has to prove anything.

One thing is for certain though, Monika and Tim were very much in love and this whole circus denigrates what they had.

[trthnd4jstc]

20. When I say the Pledge of Allegiance, I literally mean, "With Liberty and Justice for All."

This is an Injustice, and Secretary Chertoff is a liar.

[snake in the grass]

31. I hear you.

Whether it is this or Gitmo, we are receiving very poor representation to the rest of the world. The concept is not hard to understand but some are just too xenophobic to realize that it is about actual human beings. Monika's husband, Tim, got a lot of stress from his 'friends' and family because he wasn't marrying a nice 'American' girl. Since his death, none of his friends have come by to help Monika or even see how she is doing. Nothing. I just don't get it.

[Window]

21. Done with a cheerful heart. Also sent to friends and relatives.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I missed 60 minutes this week, and had no idea this disgusting practice was going on.

I wish the very best outcome for your friend and others who are going through this agonizing ordeal.

Peace:thumbsup:

[snake in the grass]

34. Thank you, Window.

Peace to you as well.

[Piewhacket]

22. Dear Snake,

This ICE policy as stated is not legal. No action by
Congress is necessary (but might be helpful). However,
appeal to overturn the policy will be lengthy. Easier
for Obama to FIRE a bunch of idiots at ICE. They got it
coming, trust me.

ICEs argument is that the status is determined based on facts
that exist at the time of hearing. They get to control when the
hearing occurs, and they are badly backlogged and indifferent.

The widows argument is that facts at the time of application
should be determined in this circumstance, and status should be
retroactive to the time of application. That would be the correct
policy .

They might have some rule about length of marriage (1-2 yrs),
which would be fully enforced even in this circumstance. If
that is why it was denied Congress probably will have to act
to make an exception (and they won't... sorry) except possibly
where a child is born.

[trthnd4jstc]

23. Nice Reply, Piewhacket. n/t

[snake in the grass]

24. Yes, you may be right.

I spoke to Brent Renison, the attorney in the report who is handling the case, and he said that of the hundreds of bills that are introduced every year, only a handful are actually debated and even fewer are passed. That is why they are following a two-way attack by trying to get the House to pass HR 6034 and by seeking a court decision that the DHS can't touch. He is pretty optimistic that one or the other will work and that this practice will end.

Monika's case is special. As she is in the 9th circuit district, she could stay if the family of the decedent would sponsor her. Unfortunately, her in-laws aren't interested in her well-being. I touched on it in my post but I'd rather not go into detail. Let it suffice to say, for them she couldn't leave the country soon enough. You'll notice the other two women in the report had family with them; Monika is on her own.

[Piewhacket]

38. Monica's circumstance...

may be the right case for challenging the policy, since a person who is
(improperly) denied on one ground but approved on some other ground has not
generally suffered any injury. But its complicated, lawyers (alas) very much
required.

Obama may have to attend it in due course and I do not believe he will
tolerate this. Perhaps this will end some careers at ICE too.
In some manner the offensive policy will be ended. Hopefully in time for
these widows including Monica.

We must remember always, elections have consequences. Life and death consequences.
Let no man or woman shirk from a fierce defense of freedom's bridge,
of defending the America's pledge of "liberty and justice for all".

(I'm preaching to the Choir again, I see. Just reminding myself why I am here.
Thank you for the excellent post. Looking forward to any updates to the story.)

[peacetalksforall]

35. Homeland Security is despicable because it's about hate of foreigners and policies

without logic - like all of Katrina. Like their duct tape. Like their evil hearts.

[snake in the grass]

39. I wonder how the DHS will be restructured.

It will be a fine thing that Chertoff has to go though. He will not be missed.