A 64-year-old woman, resident for almost three decades in Californiawas arrested during a routine appointment with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). His name is Masuma Khanand its history, marked by years of failed attempts to regularize its situation, has unleashed a wave of criticism against the US immigration system.
According to Newsweek and ABC7 Los Angeles, khan went to his annual registration at the offices of ICE last October 6. For years he had fulfilled this smooth requirementbut on this occasion the agents notified her that there was an active deportation order and proceeded to arrest her at the scene.
A routine appointment that ended in arrest
According to the testimonies collected by Newsweek, Masuma She appeared accompanied by family members for her usual check-up. The appointment, which seemed like just another procedure, became one unexpected arrest when an officer confronted her with a court order that authorities said had not been carried out for years.
After notification, she was transferred to California City Correctional Facilitywhere he remains in custody.
Your daughter, Riya Khanexplained to the same medium that his mother did not receive the necessary medication to treat her illness during the first days of arrest. blood pressure, thyroid and eye problems. He assures that, despite his insistence to the center staff, the medications were delivered latewhich worsened his state of health.
The version of the immigration authorities
The undersecretary of National security, Tricia McLaughlindeclared to Newsweek that Khan has a final deportation order issued by a judge on two occasions: once in 1999 and another in 2018. As explained, the woman presented multiple appeals and resources that were rejected both for the Board of Immigration Appeals as for the Ninth Circuit.
Despite this, family members and local legislators question the proportionality of the arrest. The congresswoman Judy Chu assured KABC that the case is being reviewed and that both she and the senator Adam Schiff They seek to be granted a bail hearing.
A life marked by bureaucratic errors and immigration scams
Masuma Khan came to the United States in 1997 with a temporary visaduring a family visit. His daughter, who was then suffering kidney failureneeded to stay in the country to receive dialysis for more than three years, which led the mother to stay longer than allowed.
Years later, her husband managed to obtain permanent residence and later US citizenship, with which they began a legal process to regularize their situation. Masuma.
However, her case became complicated when, according to her daughter, a man approached her in a store and promised help to get a Green Card. The individual would have presented a asylum application with a false identitywithout informing him that he had to appear before a judge. When the case was rejected, he disappeared. This incident ended up messing up her immigration history and contributed to the deportation order that keeps her detained today.
Years of trying and an uncertain future
For more than two decades, the family khan tried to regularize the situation Masuma through lawyers and family requests. In 2015, her husband filed a new residence requestbut was rejected by inconsistencies derived from the alias used years ago. In 2020, ICE He detained her briefly at her workplace and released her shortly after when he found no criminal record.
Today, his family insists that the goal is achieve his humanitarian release and correct a process that they consider unfair.
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