Then, to complete that picture, there were several individuals who were part of a Japanese film production company and were there to do the filming of this 75th remembrance because, as they said: This is an exceptional part of our history coming together too. Recognizing, sharing that, and allowing the stories, again, to ensure that this is not forgotten was a very significant and, I think, healing opportunity for so many. Madam President, I thank you for the opportunity to share this important part of our history, ensuring that the forgotten battle is not forgotten. With that, I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Hawaii.
This has been very hard for us as parents, but together we have worked to help her through school and life. I am not able to support this family by myself. Andres is an amazing role model to my children. He is a patient, loving, and supportive father to them in whatever they need. Victoria, Paola, and Hector love Andres very much and would go through extreme emotional hardship if he is deported.
DEPORTATION OF ANDRES MAGANA-ORTIZ
I couldn’t agree more. In September 2014, Andres received a stay of removal in order to pursue various paths to achieving legal status. In fact, he has a pending application to receive such legal status. Last November, he applied for an additional stay. Without warning or explanation, the government changed its position in March 2017 and ordered that he be removed. At that point, Andres filed for relief in Federal court. His case ultimately reached the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where his request for an emergency stay was denied. Although the Ninth Circuit found it could not stay his removal, the chief judge of that court, Judge Reinhardt, issued a powerful, concurring opinion that clarifies the injustice in this case and made a powerful moral argument against President Trump’s immigration policy. Judge Reinhardt wrote:
Ms. HIRONO. Madam President, today the Secretary of Homeland Security has the opportunity to prevent an injustice and keep a family together. At 9 a.m. Hawaii time, Andres MaganaOrtiz was scheduled to report to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Honolulu to be deported from his home of nearly 30 years. Andres was brought to America when he was only 15 years old. In the years since, he has raised three children who are U.S. citizens, is married to a U.S. citizen, has built a business, and has distinguished himself as a hard worker and a pillar of the South Kona community in Hawaii. Andres’ immigrant story is one familiar to so many American families. After working for more than a decade as a laborer on coffee farms across the Big Island, Andres saved enough money to buy his own farm. In the years since, Andres has taken on management of 15 other area coffee farms. Suzanne Shriner, president of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association, put it best in her letter of support for him when she said: Mr. Ortiz is a true example of the American Dream. Rising from a farm worker to a farm owner, he has created a successful business through hard work. He has sent his children to college. And he has given back to his community, by working with other farms and farmers to control an invasive pest. His story is why we need to find a path to citizenship for these vital members of our farming community.
Andres has three children. Victoria, age 20, is a junior at the University of Hawaii. Paola, age 14, and Hector, age 12, are still in middle school. Their lives will be shattered without their father. Andres remains on very good terms with his first wife, Veronica Ledesma Magana. In a letter she wrote to me, Veronica shared how much Andres cares for his children and how devastated they would be if he is forced to leave. She said: Andres is a wonderful father to our children. They depend on him for so much and need him during these years that are so important to their development as human beings and citizens of the United States. Paola and Hector are children with special education needs.
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She continues: My oldest daughter will need to halt her college career to help me support Paola and Hector, especially because this deportation would bar him from returning to the [United States] for 10 years. My children deserve a father to care for them, they deserve the educational opportunities he can offer them, and the love he shares with them every day.
It was fully within the government’s power to once more grant his reasonable request. Instead, it has ordered him deported immediately. In doing so, the government forces us to participate in ripping apart a family. Three United States citizen children will now have to choose between their father and their country. If they leave their homeland with their father, the children would be forced to move to a nation with which they have no connection. All three children were born in the United States. None has ever lived in Mexico or learned Spanish. Moving with their father would uproot their lives, interrupt their education, and deprive them of the opportunities afforded by growing up in this country. If they remain in the United States, however, the children would not only lose a parent, but might also be deprived of their home, their opportunity for higher education, and their financial support. Subjecting vulnerable children to a choice between expulsion to a foreign land or losing the care and support of their father is not how this nation should treat its citizens. President Trump has claimed that his immigration policies would target the ‘‘bad hombres.’’ The government’s decision to remove Magana Ortiz shows that even the good hombres are not safe.
compassion in the government’s choice to deport Magana Ortiz. We are unable to prevent Magana Ortiz’s removal, yet it is contrary to the values of this Nation and its legal system. Indeed, the government’s decision to remove Magana Ortiz diminishes not only our country but our courts, which are supposedly dedicated to the pursuit of justice. Magana Ortiz and his family are in truth not the only victims. Among others are judges who, forced to participate in such inhumane acts, suffer a loss of dignity and humanity as well. I concur as a judge, but as a citizen I do not.
Judge Reinhardt made an important point, and I agree. The government has the power to prevent this family from being torn apart. Even now, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly can issue an administrative stay to let Andres stay in this country while the government processes his application to receive legal status. Earlier this week, I spoke to Secretary Kelly on the phone to discuss Andres’ case and to urge him to issue a stay that would allow him to stay in this country. Hawaii’s congressional delegation has also written him a letter and provided a variety of other letters of support that Andres’ friends, family, and neighbors have written on his behalf. Secretary Kelly, I renew our call once more: Let Andres stay in our country. Let his children have a father present and active in their lives. It is not too late to keep this family together. This entire ordeal speaks to the fear and anxiety spreading through immigrant communities across our country. Even the good hombres, as Judge Reinhardt called them, are at risk of being torn away from their families. In an email, a spokesperson for ICE said: ‘‘While criminal aliens and those who pose a threat to public safety will continue to be a focus, DHS will NOT’’—and the word ‘‘not’’ is in all caps—‘‘exempt classes of removable aliens from potential enforcement.’’ This is chilling. It means that 11 million people in our country will live in fear that they could be deported at a moment’s notice. We must pass comprehensive immigration reform that provides a pathway to citizenship and which prioritizes the unity of families. Andres’ case is a tragedy, if not averted. There will be more cases like his in Hawaii and across the country. We must continue to fight on behalf of the good hombres and not stop until we succeed. I would like to conclude by reading part of a letter I received from Gerald Personius, one of Andres’ friends and a fellow coffee farmer from Captain Cook. He said:
Mr. Ortiz is by all accounts a pillar of his community and a devoted father and husband. The court went on to say:
Andres is a courageous, honest, caring, and dedicated person. So I ask you as a citizen of our beloved country to do the best you can to help this man continue to pursue his citizenship. He will not let America down.
It is difficult to see how the government’s decision to expel him is consistent with the President’s promise of an immigration system with ‘‘a lot of heart.’’ I find no such
We cannot let Mr. Ortiz down. I yield the floor. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
