To her family and friends, Lakeview wife and mother Madonna “Donna” Kashanian is a kind and caring neighbor always ready to cook a meal. To U.S. immigration authorities, Kashanian is a criminal, perhaps even a terrorist. Currently locked up in Basile, Louisiana’s ICE Processing Center, Kashanian is caught in the crosshairs of America’s war with Iran. Kashanian’s “crime” is that she was born in Iran and was denied asylum by the U.S. government. Having arrived in this country on a student visa in 1978, Kashanian subsequently married, bore a child, earned an honest living, volunteered after Hurricane Katrina and always paid her taxes. In short, she built a good life here for herself and her family.
For decades now, Kashanian has continued to reside in Louisiana under an administrative reprieve valid as long as she broke no laws and regularly checked in with immigration. Though Kashanian never violated the agreement, she was unceremoniously thrown in a truck last Sunday while gardening outside her home. Kashanian’s unexpected journey could well lead to her return to a country where she had not lived in almost 50 years.
Like many non-citizen residents, Kashanian nervously watched as Donald Trump was re-elected and began to deport alleged criminals. As plain clothed officers started detaining non-citizens at immigration hearings, churches, work sites and homes, Kashanian’s fear grew. If returned to Iran, Kashanian feels retribution is possible because her father worked as an engineer for a former Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was supported by the U.S. government.
Since the Trump administration’s recent decision to bomb Iranian nuclear sites, ICE picked up almost one dozen non-residents of Iranian descent in several cities across the U.S. The government believes all have committed crimes, though evidence is incomplete.
“I usually don’t comment on federal issues but this is a local issue,” said City Councilmember Joe Giarrusso. “Someone living here with the federal government’s full knowledge and approval for nearly 50 years is hardly public enemy number one. This should not happen.”
There are undoubtedly criminals and perhaps even terrorists who have entered the U.S. during the years the country’s borders were easy to penetrate. Rooting them out is necessary to protect the safety of the U.S. and her citizens. Creating a stronger system to better control which migrants are allowed to enter the country should also be a priority of Congress.
But not every migrant is a criminal. Except for those of native American heritage, everyone else or their ancestors came here as migrants. When my mother and her siblings and both sets of grandparents arrived in the U.S., they came legally as part of a quota system. They worked hard, broke no laws and became citizens.
Perhaps a new system of quotas should be created for future migrants. As for law-abiding migrants – especially students who came as young children – a path to citizenship must be created for them too. Migrants are important to the U.S. economy. They often fill jobs other citizens don’t want. Qualified students from other countries who meet certain criteria should have the privilege of an American college education. In the government’s laudable efforts to rid the country of foreign terrorists, let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
