Tears of Relief: A Client's Testimony of Hope From Gaining Permanent Resident Status

Camino’s Director, Bethany Anderson, with Ms. Sanchez after hearing her Permanent Resident application was approved

(by Bethany Anderson, Camino Immigration Director)

Ms. Sanchez had lived the last 25 years of her life focused on raising her US Citizen children. All of her energy and effort went into ensuring they had more opportunities than she did. Underneath all of the normal struggles of motherhood, was an extra layer of shame and fear because she had no legal status in the US. What if there’s an emergency and the money she made cleaning houses wasn’t enough? What if ICE picked her up and she was deported away from her children? These are questions that weighed heavy on her, but ones that she had to push aside in order to care for her children.

For Ms. Sanchez, as long as her children were safe, secure, and could pursue their own dreams, that was enough for her. That had to be enough for her because she couldn’t dare to dream of something beyond that for herself.

As the years passed and her children grew, Ms. Sanchez’ oldest son, Mario, began to see the weight his mom was carrying. As he matured, the more he realized that her immigration status was a barrier to his mom’s ability to truly rest and experience peace. He encouraged her to pursue legal relief but Ms. Sanchez was scared. As a young women, she experienced a lot of hardship and was left without many options other than to come to the US.. She thought her past would make it impossible, and the trauma of what she endured was debilitating. Who was she to dare to dream for herself? But because of Mario’s prompting, she agreed to at least talk to someone.

Mario & Ms. Sanchez found Camino through a family friend from church. When they came in for a consultation, they were surprised and overwhelmed to learn that due to a law implemented in 2001, Ms. Sanchez could qualify for permanent resident status. Her case had some complications, but Camino’s staff was committed to walking with them through the entire process.

When the Immigration officer said the words, “I am approving your application for permanent resident status,” Ms. Sanchez grabbed her son’s hand and with the other, grabbed Bethany’s, her representative from Camino, and began to cry. There is something uniquely special about these kinds of tears…tears of relief, of a barrier overcome, of a sense of peace that has never been experienced before.

Now Ms. Sanchez is free to hope not only for her children, but also for herself. She no longer has to live under the crushing fear of being separated from her family. She can have the things she only wished for her children: safety, security, and the opportunity to dream.

Quote from Ms. Sanchez

“I am very grateful for the services, kindness, and love that Camino has for the people and their commitment to help people fulfill their dream of being legal in this country. My family and I are very grateful to have the honor of meeting people like the Camino staff who are helping our community so much. They do not receive much in exchange for their time and their work but I love them and thank them again for their great hearts. Now I am a legal resident and I am so very happy. I hope they continue helping more people like me who live in fear. Now I am free to travel and live without fear.”