FreeHoa.org

Hoa was released from jail yesterday in what was a quick turn of events.  After Dan’s marriage interview on Tuesday he found out Hoa would also be interviewed Wednesday, which was unexpected.  Late Tuesday afternoon, Dan was informed that Hoa would be released under supervision after her interview, which indeed happened!  Dan and Hoa’s marriage interview w as approved and Hoa was allowed to come home after 9 weeks in jail.  Although the legal situation is not resolved, Hoa and Dan are thrilled to be with each other and to go about their lives with relative freedom.  Hoa’s deportation/removal order still stands at this time.  The full legal implications are not yet understood, and Hoa will likely have to return to Viet Nam for a short time period, where she will adjust her status and be allowed to return to the U.S. We will update you with the details as they become clear.  It is not completely understood what forces allowed this quick turn of events, but Dan and Hoa know that it is due to the amazing support they continue to receive as they work through this situation. Hoa would not be free (mostly) without your help!

Dan wrote HoaDefense.org

I wanted to let you all know that our efforts are beginning to pay off.  Hoa and I had our marriage interview expedited to Tuesday of next week(October 20).  I don’t get to see her in person, but having the interview expedited is good news as it is an important step for all of our later paperwork.  By being moved up in the que, that means someone is working favorably for our case.  Also, I received a phone call from our 5th district representative, Keith Ellison, telling me that they would “put their shoulder against the wheel.” and begin working to help Hoa and I by contacting DHS.  These are good steps toward resolving this situation. If you have a moment, call your representatives and tell them you support Representative Ellison’s efforts and you would like them to assist him in anyway they can.

This ray of hope keeps Hoa and I going, and we send you our continued thanks for your efforts, love, support, prayers and encouragement.

Sincerely,
Dan Hanson

Before we get to Hoa’s letter, Hoa, Dan, and the team at FreeHoa.org would like to thank everybody that helped make Free Hoa Saturday a success. We were able to collect hundreds of letters and spread the word about Hoa’s story. We sincerely appreciate your support.

I hope this note finds you well wherever you are.  If you are in the Twin Cities area, you must be enjoying one of the most beautiful changes of Minnesota weather, with burning fall colors and crisper air.  So far, I could experience some of that via pictures and postcards that some among you sent in, and from seeing my (video) visitors dressed up in layers.

You probably have heard about the judge’s insistence on deporting me.  While it wasn’t the easiest news to receive and we cannot comprehend such harsh measure, we know that our life must go on with this challenge in the sidecar.  Things are a bit up in the air as far as how we will manage to be together legally in the same place for the next 1 to 5 years.  I will first go back to Vietnam (unless something changes from all of your kind political efforts and a date pending Immigration’s arrangement) to be with my family and Dan will come for a visit as soon as he can.  Both of us long for actual togetherness and a quiet vacation after these stormy days.

Our temporary separation will not be the end of the world, and I am excited to leave this jail life behind.  I still feel safe here, but 8 weeks of the same routines has started to drag a little bit.  In addition, there was a recent reshuffling of inmates after which 12 inmates/friends from my house unit were replaced by 12 inmates who are here from another county jail.  I don’t particularly care for more drama nor too much information.  So, it’s a good time to leave.

This might be my last note from jail before my departure to Vietnam.  I will be able to keep in touch better once I am safely at home and have internet access, not just pencil and paper.  Until then, take care of yourself and loved ones.  Thank you all very much for your constant support and kindness toward me and Dan!  I am deeply touched and encouraged by the cards, letters and emails sent by family members, friends, friends of friends and strangers who care.  You remind me of hope, love and compassion.

Most Sincerely,
Hoa

This letter was written to everyone attending Free Hoa parties and visitors of FreeHoa.org.

American Families United would like to thank you for attending the Free Hoa party. We are a non-profit organization made up of families just like Dan and Hoa – US citizens and permanent residents sponsoring spouses and children for immigration – and friends like you. Your support today gives hope and comfort to thousands of families.

American Families United works with families to identify specific legislative reforms and asks the US Senate and House of Representatives to enact them. In Dan and Hoa’s case, if Hoa is forced to leave the US, she will be barred from returning home for 5 years. American Families United has other families in the same situation, and we are advocating a specific waiver reform proposal that would give Dan the right to apply for a waiver to this 5-year bar and bring Hoa home.

You might wonder how a law attacking Dan and Hoa could get on the books in the first place. The law wasn’t always this way. Through a legislative slight of hand, antiimmigrant forces snuck a profoundly anti-family bill into the 1996 federal budget. The bill was never debated publicly, never brought up for a vote on its merits, and most Americans are unaware that it even exists until somebody they care about gets caught in one of its many traps.

More surprising is that none of the sweeping immigration reform bills proposed in the last four years would help families like Dan and Hoa. In fact, American Families United formed in 2006 in direct response to the lack of attention to American families in immigration legislation. We have worked on several specific legislative issues, and seen bills addressing all of them – except waiver reform – either proposed or enacted into law. Our efforts for the waiver reform proposal have built to a critical mass, and it is being considered to be included for an immigration overhaul expected shortly. The next few months are our most critical for advancing waiver reform and helping Dan and Hoa.

Changing the law is too big an effort to take on individually. The main idea behind American Families United is to take on the problem as an organized group. Our approach is simple: 1) pool our financial resources to pay for first-class professional representation in Washington, DC, and 2) organize local visits to legislators.

If you would like to help Dan and Hoa further, we’re asking you to make a donation at www.americanfamiliesunited.org and contact us about organizing visits – perhaps with the same people at the party – to tell your US Senators and Congressman that this a change that voters in their district want.

You can also download the letter in a PDF file here.

Today five more parties are scheduled for Saturday, and now we’re up to 18 all across the United States and the world.

Tomorrow, we’re hoping five to ten more of FreeHoa supporters will tell us that they will join.

If you live in Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Oregon, Canada, anywhere – even if there is already a party in your city/state, we want to know that you can help.
Contact national and local media that you are hosting or attending a party to talk about that the purpose of U.S. immigration law is to protect the right of U.S. citizens to marry whom they love as they lawfully try to navigate the immigration process.

This Saturday, October 10, have a Free Hoa Party!  Attend one near you (see map below) or host a party.  Contact info@hoadefense.org for party addresses.

Your Free Hoa Party can be a small get together for coffee with 5 close friends, or it can be a big fête with 100 people – this is just a way to tell others about Dan and Hoa’s situation and families like them that are affected by the immigration policies in the United States.  Write letters (see the templates on the site), encourage donations to Hoa and Dan and/or American Families United, gather email addresses and forward them to info@hoadefense.org, and contact the media to share the story.

View Free Hoa Saturday in a larger map

Special Free Hoa Party
Saturday, October 10th from 1-4pm
Pasquini’s Pizzeria
7431 Park Meadows Dr. Littleton CO 80124
*Come sign letters to help FreeHoa.org and get a free slice of pizza, plus a coupon for a discount on a future visit!
*Come and eat from 5-9pm on Monday, Oct.12th and part of the proceeds from Pasquini’s will be donated to FreeHoa.org

If you own a business, or know of a business, that would like to host a Free Hoa Party, we would be happy to promote the business accordingly.  Please contact info@hoadefense.org with details.

There is a benefit concert for Hoa and Dan on Wednesday 10/7. It starts at 7:30 with music at 8 at fellow Luther College grad Krissy Haltiner’s house address is 3515 Washburn Ave N. in North Minneapolis. The band is Something From Oz. Dan will try to stop by and say hi after seeing Hoa in jail.

This letter was written by Dan and Hoa’s neighbor in Minneapolis. This is a fantastically written letter that accurately describes the wonderful characters of Dan and Hoa in contrast to their tragic situation.

September 26, 2009

Dear [  ],

I am writing about a matter that is of great concern to me, my family and my neighborhood.  Enclosed is the Memorandum and Order that should explain the legal status of our friend and neighbor Hoa Nguyen who is currently incarcerated in the Sherburne County Jail pending deportation to her native country of Vietnam. Exhibit A. She has been in this country since 1999 and married her long-time boyfriend in November 2008.  Hoa’s incarceration came about due to an extremely minor error that Hoa made in the calendaring of her hearing date in immigration court in Bloomington, Minnesota. She apparently missed her hearing on August 13, 2009 due to this mistake and was handcuffed, arrested and taken away to jail one day later.  I am asking that you intervene on her behalf to prevent or reverse this disastrous result.

Although I am an attorney, immigration law is far from my area of practice in ERISA employee benefits. I therefore cannot pretend to adequately understand whether Hoa’s case has been handled competently or optimally.  Nor do I understand whether the Immigration Judge who adjudicated this matter correctly applied the legal standards. Since time is of the essence, I am writing this letter to you as fast as I can, and at the expense of my own independent legal research, in order to convey my dismay, embarrassment and humiliation at how this lovely woman has been treated in my country. My understanding is that there are no meaningful legal avenues that Hoa can pursue at this time to prevent her deportation.  She and her husband have been advised that any appeal rights Hoa has are not worth exercising because they are futile.

What I understand all too well is that Hoa’s deportation is unnecessary and accomplishes nothing for the United States.  Hoa and her husband, a U.S. Citizen, will be subjected to an unnecessarily harsh sanction, that of deportation, for a simple act of inadvertence.  While it is perhaps true that Hoa did slip up regarding her immigration status, the deportation of individuals with poor calendaring skills who are otherwise wonderful, productive and law abiding members of our community, cannot possibly be the purpose of the laws under which Hoa is being punished.  Therefore, I do beg for your intervention on this matter.

Although Hoa’s situation is disturbing enough on its face, I believe some context is in order if you are to understand why Hoa’s situation has triggered such strong reactions.  Enclosed are some affidavits and letters from interested parties describing Hoa and her circumstances and those of her husband Dan Hanson. Exhibit B.

For my part, my husband, my daughter and I, have lived in our home in Minneapolis in the “Wedge” or “East Lowry Hill” neighborhood for over 13 years.  You may be familiar with the neighborhood.  It is one of the most interesting in Minneapolis in that it is diverse in every way.  We happen to live in one of the large, single family, Victorian homes, but there are many rentals, duplexes and apartment buildings in the neighborhood as well.  There are often issues with noise, maintenance of property etc.  We are always aware when properties change hands because it tends to favorably affect the quality of our lives when responsible people who value our neighborhood purchase property or rent in the Wedge.  We get to know our neighbors because it makes us all safer, it builds community, and the people tend to be interesting.

The property where, until recently, Hoa lived with her husband Dan is one that has undergone rather miraculous positive changes.  In May 2005 a group of young adults, all graduates of Luther College, bought this property at 2447 Colfax Ave. S. together.  This conspicuously wholesome bunch of “kids” purchased the house together because they were tired of renting and none was quite situated to buy a home on his or her own.  They have rehabilitated the house, built a new garage, and tended the garden.  The owners of the house include a school teacher in at Seward Montessori, and school teacher at the Woodbury/Cottage Grove Spanish immersion, and ER nurse at Hennepin County Medical Center, a transplant nurse, a musician who is also pursuing his degree in Audiology at the University of Minnesota, and a musician who works at Majors and Quinn bookstore in Uptown.  Dan, Hoa’s husband and another owner of the house, is a carpenter.  He recently started his own contracting business, and due to his skill and the general sense of integrity that he exudes, he has already been hired by several neighborhood homeowners to work on their Victorian homes.

At the time of the home purchase Dan and Hoa were already boyfriend and girlfriend for many several years and were clearly in love; there is no question as to the bona fides of this marriage. Hoa is a tiny, bubbly young woman with a great sense of humor.  We were overjoyed that Dan and Hoa decided to get married. Hoa moved into the home with Dan and her other Luther College colleagues where she tended the garden and the potted plants.  Although Dan and Hoa are both extremely intelligent, their lives were conventional in many ways.  Dan would work on a contracting project down the street and return home for lunch prepared by Hoa. Dan and Hoa would hold hands and go out to dinner in the neighborhood. Dan and Hoa would come and join their neighbors for trivia night at the Leaning Tower of Pizza on Lyndale Avenue. Dan and Hoa just seemed to be a happy, loving couple embarking on nothing short of the American dream.

What I foresaw was that they would eventually leave the property across the street from us because of the ultimate success of Dan’s contracting business, the completion of Hoa’s terminal degree in French, and their plan to have a family. They did not share the plan to have a family with me, but I wished this for them, because they both are such nurturing people.  They clearly nurtured each other and would have been spectacular parents.  By way of example when Dan was hired by our neighbors to remodel their basement, he was found walking the homeowners’ children to school before beginning his building work.

We understood Hoa to be pursuing a PhD and the University of Minnesota, but apparently she had been experiencing some burnout.  I now understand that this made her hesitate in the midst of her program, which resulted in the loss of her student status unbeknownst to her, and which ultimately led to the need for a hearing that she inadvertently missed.  None of us knew that she was struggling, but it now makes sense in light of the fact that she had been on a very serious academic track since she was 16. She attended the United World College in Norway for high school and it was there that she apparently learned of Luther College.  She graduated Luther College Summa Cum Laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Since we learned that Hoa was incarcerated, it feels as if the whole neighborhood has been in a state of mourning.  We are all feeling seriously let down by the result of Hoa’s motion to the Immigration Court.  We are all at a loss to understand how it is that Hoa can be seen as a reasonable target for this kind of enforcement.  We are disappointed that the system could not provide a reasonable alternative for Hoa who so clearly deserves to be here in the U.S., who is such a valuable person to us, and who would have made such a great contribution.  The other day I received an email from another neighbor.  The subject heading was, “Bad News/Worse News.”  The email first described how the sender’s mother had suffered a heart attack.  The “Worse News” was that Hoa’s motion had been denied and she would be deported.  Since we all know that Hoa poses no threat to the security of the United States there is a sense of betrayal and of cynicism that has taken over. Meanwhile, on a more practical level, we worry about Hoa’s safety in a jail with violent criminals. She is physically very small and clearly has not experience in this kind of environment. The image of Hoa in a correctional facility is very haunting.  These are dark days.

Personally, this has affected my eating and sleeping. As a U.S. Citizen, I am hurt that someone so dear has to suffer such harsh consequences for no reason.  As an attorney, I am desperate to find a form of broader legal reasoning that would support this harsh result. I see the people around me, friends and neighbors of Hoa, loosing their confidence in “the system.”  This is exemplified by an email I got from a neighbor that stated his interpretation that “the judge has determined that Hoa’s intelligence and sweet disposition are too threatening to the security of the United States.” I know that there are laws that can be blind to the equities of a given situation, but this is the worst such case to touch me personally and I doubt that I will ever be able to find justification for such an absurd consequence.  As Americans we brag that we are a country of immigrants.  Hoa’s situation, if it is allowed to stand, does great damage to that pride.

Please help Hoa.  Please help your constituents recover their faith and trust in government by helping to correct this serious misfiring of the law.  Hoa needs to come home where she can begin her life again.  She has done nothing morally wrong and deserves to be free.

Your truly,

Sally

FreeHoa.org has received a good response from legislators, and we are now sharpening our focus. From this point on, the letters that we send to U.S. congresspeople will no longer be asking for a private bill to be sponsored for Hoa. Instead, we will be asking for:

1. Senator Klobuchar or Senator Franken or Representative Ellison to call the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personally, and plead that our case be reopened.
2. Senator Klobuchar or Franken to call the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) personally, and ask that our I-130 marriage interview be expedited.

The action letters have been revised to reflect the change in focus.

If you have already written letters asking for a private bill, thank you!   However, if you would like to write an additional personal letter asking for the two points covered above, that would be much appreciated.

Please DO NOT contact the Department of Homeland Security on your own. Contacting the DHS will do more harm than good.