Woodland man tries to help his wife who faces deportation (Daily Democrat)

Woodland man tries to help his wife who faces deportation

By CRYSTAL LEE/clee@dailydemocrat.com
Created: 04/13/2009 02:29:04 AM PDT

Life has been rough for Rashmir Kaur. Her story begins in her native Fiji, where she tolerated an abusive arranged marriage for 11 years. She finally left her husband when her brother gave his blessing for her to do so.

But for the next half dozen years, the ex-husband terrorized Kaur until she went into hiding at a friend's house.

In April 2005, Kaur, on her brother's advice, married an American man -- the brother's friend -- and moved to the U.S. on an immigrant visa. She lived with her parents and brothers in Dixon. To Kaur's surprise, her new husband never contacted her.

Tradition dictated that Kaur, as a Sikh woman of Punjabi descent, should never question her brother's counsel, but she was tired of living her life under the instructions of others.

By January 2007, Kaur was dating Richard Salazar, a Woodland resident and forklift operator she had met while working as a janitor at a local warehouse. It was an immediate attraction -- Salazar thought she was beautiful, and Kaur liked him because he was nice and never tried to make a pass at her the way some of the other workers did.

They moved into an apartment together and married almost two years later, after Kaur finalized the divorce from her absentee second husband.

Chaos returns

Kaur's family, of course, was not happy with her newfound independence and apparent rebellion. But to Kaur, who was starting a career as a nurse's assistant, she was only doing what made her happy, finally leaving behind a life of submission.

"When we got together," Salazar, 38, said in March, "it was the first time she was living her life the way she wanted to." He said Kaur found joy in simple household tasks, such as buying curtains and a new microwave for their apartment.

Late last year, Salazar said, Kaur's parents seemed to have had a change of heart. They started joking around with Salazar and even spent Christmas with the newlyweds.

Just as the chaos started settling down, something went very wrong.

On Jan. 13, Kaur, now 34, was arrested and taken to a detention center. She was to be deported in four weeks.

In the time that Kaur immigrated to the U.S., began living with her family, struggled for her independence, moved in with Salazar, divorced and remarried, an important piece of the naturalization process was lost in the jumble.

Kaur and the American -- the stranger -- she wed in Fiji never turned in the paperwork required by the federal government after two years of residency to show that the couple was, indeed, still married.

Although Kaur had, in the meantime, remarried another U.S. citizen, her conditional green card was expired -- she was now illegal.

Not cut out for jail

When the deportation officials came knocking, Salazar said, he and Kaur were in the midst of getting the paperwork in order. As soon as they were married, he said, they found an attorney who told them to file what later turned out to be the wrong documents, further delaying the process.

Then someone alerted the officials -- the couple suspect Kaur's brother, the one she had disobeyed by moving in with Salazar. Kaur has no criminal background, Salazar said.

He describes his wife, with her long brown hair and gentle nature, as a "girlie-girl" who is not cut out for jail.

Kaur, from a Northern California county detention facility, said she stays out of trouble by keeping to herself.

"It is really hard for me because I have never been through a place like I am over here," Kaur said in a phone call in March. She had a heavy accent and pronounced her words carefully, but the weariness in her voice was evident.

"They are mostly criminals and most of them do drugs over here, and I have never done any of that," she continued. "Some of them are nice, but I always try to be careful because they get into fights."

Salazar has seen Kaur only a couple times since the arrest. The last time he saw her, he said, she was weak and trembling from malnutrition. He said Kaur refuses to eat the beef served in jail because it is against her religion.

"She just seems broken to me. I mean, she just seems like she's given up," Salazar said. "(But) if she's given up, then I can't; it means I have to be strong for both of us."

Salazar had found another lawyer who helped suspend Kaur's deportation for a hearing before the immigration court. But a judge canceled the hearing, Kaur was once again ordered out of the country, and the couple was out of money for legal representation.

Kaur can be deported at any time.

A plea for help

In desperation, Salazar set up an account with a local Wells Fargo bank for contributions and is seeking legal counsel -- an attorney willing to work the case pro bono or accept deferred payment -- to help Kaur get out of jail and regain her residency status.

If Kaur is ultimately deported, however, she can return to the U.S. if her husband or family members can prove her departure is causing them "severe hardship," according to Sharon Rummery, a regional spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Although Rummery could not discuss specific cases, she said deported individuals are immediately barred from the country for one to three years -- but exceptions can be made.

"In immigration, there is absolutely nothing that is typical," said Jorge Rodriguez-Choi, the attorney who helped postpone Kaur's deportation. "Everything takes on a life of its own."

If all else fails, Salazar plans to move to Fiji to be with his bride. And Kaur, despite her predicament, said her feelings about her husband have not changed -- he is "someone who can be nice to me, and I can share my life with him."

"I was doing whatever (my family) wanted me to do. ... I was thinking that I have to have my own life, too. How long am I going to stay with them and listen to what they want me to do?" Kaur said.

She continued, "I cry every day and night. I'm tired of my life now. I just want someone who can help take me out of here, so I can go back to my husband."