TRAITORS

by Gerardo Robledo

  “Okay then,” said Zina. “I’ll talk to her this evening and discuss the whole situation so she can tell me what to do. She can actually talk to my father little by little before we tell him the entirety of the problem.”

  That night, Zina took courage and approached her mother. She first explained the accident in detail and pointed out that the reason for his arrest was not being in possession of a driver’s license. She made it clear that although Luis was not at fault, he had to be imprisoned pending the outcome of the child; and if the boy would die, Luis could serve a long prison sentence—just because he didn’t have said document.

  Feeling like she had a lump in her throat, she told her mother about Luis’ immigration status because he was undocumented, he had used fake documents to look for work and was now being charged with felony. Zina added, “After serving his sentence pertaining to the accident, he will be placed at an immigration detention center where he will be subject to a trial. The judge will then determine whether he will be deported or not.” She also told her about the situation of Luis’ family in Mexico and about the decision to secretly get married in order to help accelerate Luis’ legal status.

  Zina’s mother was a very conservative woman. She had migrated to the United States about twenty-eight years ago. She had lived firsthand the pain of leaving behind not only her family and friends and but also her homeland—knowing that perhaps she could never return to it again. She also understood what it was like being undocumented where one does not just struggle to find work but, as an immigrant, has a double task of achieving victory in the Land of Opportunity. She knew that sometimes it was not at all within one’s reach. Shortly after arriving in the United States, she met Jack, an American citizen of Korean descent. After a two-year relationship, they married. The fruit of this marriage were two children, Zina, now nineteen and Stuart, fourteen.

  Like any mother would, she understood the entire situation that her daughter was going through. Although at first she was bothered by the fact that her daughter had married without her consent, she firmly committed in helping as much as possible. She also clarified that, for the time being, they should not talk about the subject to Zina’s dad, knowing that he would react with great anger for breaking the rules. They knew that he would feel disappointed and surely not lend his support no matter what the reason.

  The life of the family had become enormously complicated and was now involved in trips to visit the lawyer, prison and the hospital to monitor the condition of the boy.

  They knew that for Luis to be set free from charges of vehicular manslaughter, the boy had to recover. One morning, during a visit to the hospital, they received pleasant news that the boy was out of intensive care. This made everybody completely ecstatic especially when the doctor said that within a few days, the child would most likely be able to go home without many health complications. The child’s family had also become fond of Luis’ family. After several visits, they talked about Luis and they understood that he was in an extremely complicated situation and the boy’s mother was at fault. Even with the boy’s recovery, there wasn’t much they could do. The information from the hospital had to go through various protocols before reaching the judge who would later on decide whether to withdraw the charges of attempted vehicular manslaughter or not. This led the family to continue living in an environment of uncertainty and pain.

  On the other side of the border, the situation with Grandma Andrea had not been pleasant either. Around those days, Norma received a call from Maria, who informed her that their grandmother had again suffered a relapse. The elderly lady had been very worried about Luis as two weeks had passed without him communicating with her. This situation rarely happened because he would at least call her once a week. Norma had to tell Maria the truth but asked her not to say anything to her grandmother. Norma also promised Maria she wouldn’t tell Luis about the relapse since he already had enough trouble being a prisoner, being unable to communicate with his grandma, and being away from Zina.

  The whole truth was hidden from Zina’s father who, having a busy life, never realized that he had not seen Luis nor even had the slightest suspicion about what was going on.

  Pablo was also notified that the case remained on the right track as Norma would give him daily updates through e-mail or sometimes, by phone.

  He could do little since he was away and everything was in the hands of lawyers. The one who suffered the most was Zina as the whole problem was weighing in on her. She had in mind that after resolving the consequences of the accident come the most difficult part—facing Luis’ immigration trial. All of these completely changed the plans in her life. Every visit by Zina was a great motivation for Luis, and the only thing that kept him up in faith. During her visits, Luis spoke to her about how the situation would have been different if at least some of the requests made during the pro-immigration demonstrations that were held across the country were heard by politicians. Some of the requests include the approval of the DREAM Act, which would allow undocumented students to continue school, receive temporary visas and progress to the possibility of obtaining permanent residency. This would help hundreds of thousands of students, with great potential, excel in their fields. By not having legal documents, they were forced to continue their schooling in their own local community colleges, not receiving any kind of help in paying for it.

  Activists had also been struggling to get at least driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants. So far it’s only citizens and legal residents could obtain this important privilege. The rules intensified as the atmosphere of anti-immigration widened its reign in the country. As always, nothing could be achieved and the situation not only kept Luis, but thousands of people driving without the document at risk of not only being fined but also having their vehicles seized. This would leave them with no choice but to pay a hefty amount of money apart from dealing with the consequences of the infraction and the lack of having a license. Of course, people often lose their vehicles due to the high impound fees. It forced them to go through the painful process of starting all over again as if wasn’t difficult enough to cope with daily crises that keep on intensifying due to increased debt caused by infractions, fines and confiscated cars. They’re constrained to go on with their lives without their primary mean of transportation.

  The frustrated Luis commented to Zina that many people had not supported nor participated in the marches, making the demonstration insufficient enough to make politicians act and provide solutions to all these problems. Last year, there had been at least eleven million illegal immigrants in the country and yet the marches had not come to have even just a million people. The demonstration even included pro-migrant groups, which constituted a large number of U.S. citizens. The group wondered where the immigrants were and why they were just being silent, letting other people fight for them.

  The days in prison seemed like an eternity for Luis. He had not yet been informed of his grandmother’s condition. Her health had not improved, and she had spent some days in the hospital to receive certain medications crucial to her recovery. When she felt better, she was released. Maria took the opportunity to tell her grandmother that Luis had called but she was at the hospital. Oblivious to all this, Luis suffered the great sorrow of his tragedy on his own not imagining the sorrow of the rest of his family. Everyone knew the situation of the elderly woman and they suffered twice the amount of misery—for the situation of Luis, and the infirmity Grandma Andrea.

  Luis prayed in silence entrusting the welfare of his “Sweet Granny,” his other family members, and his beloved Zina to the Virgin Mary. He knew of the emotional burden Zina was carrying since the two were so closely united that one’s situation affected the other in the very same way. He was quite aware that she supported not only him, but also his family.

  A few days later, it was time to meet with the judge who would be handing out his fate and giving the family instructions, w
hich needed to be followed to see through his release.

  That morning, they were in court with Aunt Lupita and family, Norberto, Norma (wearing her military uniform), and Zina, who was accompanied by her mother. Zina’s mom decided to get herself involved in the fight knowing that all this would affect her daughter. Among those present were the woman who had caused the accident and her son, who had left the hospital. They decided to attend to show support for Luis.

  Everyone stood up when the judge entered. He requested the crowd to sit down, and immediately presented the case:

  “We have Luis Arriaga, the defendant in the case pertaining to the car accident on March 3rd.”

  He also presented the defense attorney and clarified that there was no prosecutor, since the family had not filed charges against the defendant. He then gave the floor to the defense counsel. The lawyer took a step forward, stood before the court and began his defense statement:

  “Your Honor,” began the lawyer, “since there is no prosecution and the only passenger seriously injured in the accident has left the hospital, I ask Your Honor to drop the charges against the accused, Luis Arriaga. I also ask for the removal of any negative references from his criminal records.”

  There was silence in court. Luis felt the clammy cold sweat forming. The moment of truth had arrived. All the images that occurred at that time passed through his mind. Every day, he had dreamed of being set free to run and embrace his beloved, whom at that time was so close yet so far. He also wanted to have a phone in his hand and cry out to his grandmother how much he loved her since more than a month had passed without hearing her voice—tender and affectionate, caressing him in these times of sorrow.

  At that moment, Luis’ soul was filled with anguish because he could not even talk to her. Zina’s look was of tenderness. Her pain became greater in knowing what was going through his mind.

  The judge took the floor and declared:

  “This Court has made a decision on the case of Luis Arriaga. It declares young Luis Arriaga, the defendant, free from all charges pertaining to the accident on March the 3rd.

  Some cheers interrupted the judge. All went well and the release of Luis was about to be at hand.

  “Order in the court!” demanded the judge forcefully pounding the sound block with his gavel. “The Court has ruled that the defendant be stripped of criminal charges and of criminal records resultant of the accident. However, there is still a case against Luis Arriaga for using and falsifying legal documents, which were found in his vehicle on the day of the accident. He is hereby ordered to be transferred to federal prison. The federal court will decide his future in this country. The appropriate authority will rule whether or not there ought to be criminal charges filed against him for the use of such documents.” The judge gaveled the day’s session to an end. A busy murmur arose in the courtroom.

  Everyone approached the lawyer and asked for an explanation of what just happened. He made it that the case he had represented was over and that they had won; however, the issue with the federal court was not in his hands.

  Luis was removed from the court. He just took a few seconds to say goodbye to his beloved, who was fighting a sea of tears. She knew that the struggle would go on… or perhaps, it had just begun. She swore she would do everything possible to see him set free and would wait as long as necessary to be with him again.

  The confused Luis barely had the strength to tell her he loved her and appreciated everything she had done for him.

  That day was devastating for Luis. Once back in his cell, he cried more than ever over his misfortune, not even knowing what the process was to be set free. He didn’t know how his family would find the strength to endure all this. He also knew that they must be in a tough financial situation since a lot of money had been spent for his defense. Going through federal court would mean more spending. He had no form of help. Luis did not even eat. He went to sleep filled with unanswered questions and now he could only wait for news from the outside.

  That day, he had been deprived of communication. He would be transferred to a federal prison the following day and the procedures for the transfer were under strict security.

  That night, Luis recalled how his trip to the United States had been full of wishful thinking. His brother Pablo had been talking about how he adapted to a new life and though he had been through all kinds of risks, he finally succeeded in following most of his dreams—dreams that all immigrants firmly commit themselves to upon leaving their country. One leaves everything behind due to the insufficient opportunities. To make matters worse, the leaders are highly corrupt, only caring about fattening their wallets and making themselves even richer at the expense of the people—sinking them further into debts. Perhaps they hoard in preparation for the next election where power would be reshuffled—the very same election where they would again make promises that they will never, ever keep. This causes more and more people to want to emigrate and seek better opportunities in other countries. This creates a great exodus where people leave, suffer and become subject to discrimination and abuse, while they, the corrupt leaders, continue their corrupt ways.

  The dreams that Luis had yearned for were now repressed behind bars. He was only waiting to be transferred from one prison to another without even knowing what sort of conditions he would be in for or how long the process would take to get him out of there. He had heard many stories about these detention centers, which did not do much for the welfare of the prisoners.

  That night, Norma was unable to communicate with Pablo because he was on a special assignment. They only told her that they would pass on her message, leaving her constrained to just send an email explaining everything that happened.

  An All-Out-War

  The next morning would be even more demeaning for Luis. After only two hours of sleep, he was rudely awakened early in the morning. After grooming, he ate his breakfast at eight o’clock. He had to prepare for a rigorous examination before being transferred to the detention center in the city of Lancaster, California—northeast of San Fernando, which is about forty minutes away.

  There could be nothing worse for him. After the uncomfortable interrogation, his hands and feet were cuffed as if one of the worst criminals. He was guarded by at least four federal agents and was led to the truck that would transfer him to his jail. He never imagined the possibility of going through all this, because in his mind, he simply could not comprehend why his crime deserved this kind of treatment. During the years of his life in the United States, he had devoted himself to doing good acts for not only his community but the nation.

  Norma accompanied Zina that morning to talk to the immigration lawyer and explain what had happened: from the day of the accident to the charges filed against Luis.

  The attorney received them immediately and after hearing the whole story, he made the family mindful of the steps that had to be followed. To start, they had to contact a lawyer specializing in deportation since it was the most probable sentence the judge would hand out. However, since he was under the protection of Act 245i, he had to be represented by an expert counsel.

  “For now, try to communicate with him in the detention center and say that under no circumstances should he sign any document pertaining to voluntary deportation. This will definitely ruin the whole process,” the lawyer said. They left the place with information on an attorney specializing in deportation cases, but first went to investigate which detention center Luis was moved to. They soon learned that he had been transferred to the city of Lancaster and immediately went there. The drive to Lancaster took almost an hour since it was in the middle of the daily commute.

  Upon arrival, they encountered many setbacks since Luis had just arrived that same day and his records in the system had not yet been updated. They also found out that visiting hours were even more restrictive than in the county jail. After waiting for nearly three hours, and u
sing a little bit of Norma’s military privileges, they finally had the opportunity to speak with him. They were finally able to communicate and explain the lawyer’s recommendations to the young man.

  Meanwhile, Luis explained that in three days he would have his first hearing with the judge and he would know what would happen to him. He also told them that apart from his defense counsel; only three other people were allowed in court. The authorities had informed him that if they could not afford an attorney, he had the right to a public defense lawyer. Luis chose the latter not wanting his family to continue spending their money on his case, but Norma and Zina objected, knowing that a public defense counsel would not represent him with the same zeal that a private attorney would.

  After taking all relevant information for the day in court, the ladies went back to Los Angeles, but not before booking an appointment for that afternoon with attorney Antonio Quintanilla, an expert in deportation.

  The lawyer received them and after hearing the case, they reached an agreement for Luis’ representation.

  “It will not be easy,” stressed Quintanilla. “Today the forging of official documents is a major offense and is punished harshly if the offender is an American citizen. If committed by a legal resident or someone in the legalization process, he or she automatically loses his or her residence status or the right to be legalized. But we will try to fight it as a humanitarian case. However, depending on what the judge says during the first hearing, I will ask for an extension to study the case and determine how we can win.