Ramon Flores candidly admits that what he did was wrong. Born and raised in a small town north of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, by the time he reached his early 20s, he saw the danger posed by traffickers and vowed to find a better life in the United States. So he sneaked across the U.S. border. He landed here, illegally, on his second attempt. Returning in 1998 from a trip home to visit his family, he was caught and returned to Mexico. Undaunted, he crossed back in less than a year and stayed for almost 20 years.
He pressed on with his life, working, marrying, and raising and supporting a large family in Hazel Dell.
The second wrong occurred when Flores stayed at the North Everett Motel 6 while on a business trip in February 2017. Unknown to its guests, the budget motel chain was in the habit of turning over their names to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, without any warrant or probable cause to believe the guests were in the country illegally.
On the morning of Valentine’s Day, ICE agents stopped Flores just after he checked out. It set in motion a chain of events that ended a comfortable working-class life for his wife, Enedis, and six children, all seven of whom are U.S. citizens. Their Mexican goods business failed. Unable to pay rent, the family lost its rental duplex. Despite spending $15,000 on a lawyer, Ramon lost his immigration court case and was deported. His family’s plight was chronicled last week in a three-day Columbian series underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
The family’s sad tale, which continues to unfold, casts a bright and unfavorable light on U.S. immigration policies. While we recognize the need to control our borders, we have insufficient options to cope with those who are already here, living their lives, working, raising children and paying their taxes. There appears to be no way to right the wrong created by Motel 6’s practices.
Vancouver immigration attorney Mercedes Riggs explained that anyone who entered the country illegally must leave in order for a U.S. visa to be processed, even if, like Ramon Flores, he has a spouse and children who are U.S. citizens. And anyone who has been in the country for more than a year, then caught and deported, can’t even apply for a visa for at least a decade.
There is also the injury caused by the motel’s decision to share personal data. After the practice came to light, two lawsuits, including one by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, were filed, and the motel chain has settled them for $22 million. But the money still needs to be put in the hands of the people whose families were split and lives destroyed.
What should the consequences be, and who should bear them? Columbian readers will have a chance to weigh in at a public forum featuring Ferguson and local experts knowledgable about U.S. immigration policy and the plight of Latinos caught in its many constrictions. It is set for 4:30 to 6 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Vancouver Community Library, 901 C St.
While President Trump and his supporters are fixated on building the biggest barricade since the Great Wall of China, a more thoughtful approach to U.S. immigration policy is needed, particularly with an eye toward people who are already in the country.
As Ramon’s eldest daughter, Leslie Flores, 23, told The Columbian: “How can they possibly think it’s OK to rip families apart?”
The answer, of course, is that it is not. Current laws don’t serve the best purposes of the United States nor those most affected by them. A major re-examination is in order.
