Wife of Missing Soldier Faces Deportation

By TChris, Section Social Justice
Posted on Wed Jun 20, 2007 at 11:43:08 AM EST
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Army Specialist Alex Jimenez has been missing since May 12, when his unit in Iraq was attacked by insurgents. As if his wife doesn't have enough to worry about, she's left to wonder whether she'll be deported.

"I can't imagine a bigger injustice than that, to be deporting someone's wife who is fighting and possibly dying for our country," [her attorney, Matthew] Kolken told [WBZ-TV].

Yaderlin Jimenez came to the United States from the Dominican Republic. She entered the country illegally, but after they were married, Alex thought she might be eligible for a green card and legal residence status. His efforts on her behalf only alerted the authorities that she was here illegally, triggering deportation proceedings that, fortunately, were stayed after she learned of her husband's disappearance. Kolken hopes she'll be granted a hardship waiver.

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Wife of Missing Soldier Faces Deportation | 13 comments (13 topical)

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How horrible, just horrible (5.00 / 2) (#2)
by Militarytracy on Wed Jun 20, 2007 at 01:58:29 PM EST

Thank you so much for putting this up and getting the word out. By doing so you may have helped her be able to choose her home during the worst stress she will probably ever suffer in her lifetime. Recruiting is so bad right now the military is friggin freakin out every time they are exposed as potentially heartless. The more people find out about this the better her chances for staying where she has rightfully earned to stay and getting all the benefits that were meant to be hers if and when we must declare him KIA. SICK BASTAS, I have tears in my eyes!

et al (5.00 / 2) (#5)
by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jun 20, 2007 at 04:49:47 PM EST

I just called my House Rep and both Senators.

You???

Another picture (none / 0) (#1)
by Jen M on Wed Jun 20, 2007 at 11:50:03 AM EST

for the recruiting posters.

That aught to encourage recruiting among first and second generation immigrants.

ummmmmmmmmmmm (none / 0) (#3)
by cpinva on Wed Jun 20, 2007 at 02:44:08 PM EST

not to be nit picky or anything (oh hell, why not?), but are they actually married? if she wasn't here legally when they got hitched, she entered into a contract with the state under false pretenses. it would seem (from what i remember of contract law), this makes it voidable on its face.

i guess it would depend on the laws of the state in which they were married, but i submit the lady may well find out she's still single.

any real lawyers care to hazard an opinion?

The military has gone to great lengths (none / 0) (#4)
by Militarytracy on Wed Jun 20, 2007 at 03:05:56 PM EST

to allow soldiers to have spouses from all over the world. Commanders have stepped into situations like this and made all the right phone calls and people were allowed to be here to marry and if soldiers are called away or deployed great lengths have often been taken for the intended to stay wherever need be until soldier was able to return. It's strange, I know, they do it though. I suppose it is sort of bonus for having to live without a real home and risk your life if asked. I can't help thinking that some Commander or someone had it out for this kid or hates immigration or something like that. It is very odd and lots of corners have been cut in the past for soldiers and spouses or intendeds of other nations.


common law?? (none / 0) (#6)
by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jun 20, 2007 at 04:51:23 PM EST

: Liar (none / 0) (#12)
by Sailor on Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 12:09:24 AM EST

Ummm verrrr law breaker (none / 0) (#8)
by Militarytracy on Wed Jun 20, 2007 at 08:52:05 PM EST

where's the rest of the story? (none / 0) (#9)
by diogenes on Wed Jun 20, 2007 at 08:56:06 PM EST

Any wife of a CITIZEN is automatically legal while married-there are all sorts of Russian brides who come on the internet based on this.
So does he just have a green card after all these years, and does that matter? Or is he a citizen?
The solution is to expidite his citizenship, posthomoulosly is necessary, and let her stay as the wife or widow of a citizen. Please don't make this another red herring to let otherwise illegal aliens into the country by changing general marriage rules in any way that would apply to anyone else.

: not automatic (5.00 / 1) (#10)
by Jen M on Wed Jun 20, 2007 at 09:09:20 PM EST

friend of mine (navy gulf war vet) has been spending years trying to get his wife back into the US

dark avenger (none / 0) (#11)
by cpinva on Wed Jun 20, 2007 at 11:01:10 PM EST

could you provide the cite for this?

: dark avenger (none / 0) (#14)
by cpinva on Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 06:16:28 AM EST

under a now-expired plan
this may have been true, before the plan expired. the question is: what is the current law, regarding the legality of marriages between a person here illegally, and one here legally?
way back when, enlisted grades lower than a certain level (i think it was e-5) had to get their CO's permission to marry. there was a valid reason for this: it made the young couple really think about the implications involved, almost like required pre-marital counseling.
that isn't the case today. had it been, this may well have come up in the course of that, and been resolved, prior to their having gotten married.

spouses (none / 0) (#16)
by diogenes on Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 06:53:04 PM EST

Then how do I see all these Ukrainian patients who are depressed and newly wed to American men who met them on the internet?