Families in limbo on immigration status hold onto hope

By Ana Ley

Monday, May 11, 2015 | 2 a.m.

Like many other young Americans separated from parents by Mexican poverty and U.S. immigration laws, Nohemi Ochoa Ruano, 15, doesn’t know when she’ll see her dad again.

The freshman at Palo Verde High School hopes her father will be there this semester to watch her excel in her favorite subjects, history and English. Maybe he’ll be granted a deportation reprieve by the time she graduates and goes college hunting. Perhaps he’ll even be settled in the United States by the time she achieves her ultimate goal: becoming a civil rights attorney, fighting for vulnerable families like hers.

“Now that I’m growing up, I want him to see me accomplish things,” Nohemi said.

For now, her father is marooned in Mexico, bound to his native country while his wife and only child, his “little princess,” make lives for themselves in the country that offered them an escape from poverty six years ago.

Clinton on immigration

Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton visited Las Vegas last week to talk about her plan to support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, drawing a sharp line between herself and the long list of Republican opponents she could face in 2016. Immigration could play a crucial role in next year’s election, and Clinton’s speech brought it to the forefront.

The former first lady and secretary of state delivered her message at Rancho High School during a speech and panel talk with six young Nevadans who are undocumented immigrants or have relatives who want to become legal residents. Among them was local immigration activist Astrid Silva.

Clinton didn’t offer specifics about how she would expand citizenship but said that, if she were elected president she would “go a step further” than President Barack Obama has.

Ricardo Ochoa is one of the millions of people who could have benefited from President Barack Obama’s executive actions granting deportation relief and work permits to parents whose children live in the United States legally. Nohemi was born in the United States, and her mother, Claudia Ruano, is a naturalized citizen. Obama's Deferred Action for Parental Accountability program offered hope for the family to be reunited.

But in February, just two days before people could begin applying for legal protection, a federal judge in Texas halted the plan in response to a lawsuit filed by a coalition of representatives from 26 states. The group, which includes Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, has accused Obama of stepping outside his legal bounds by issuing the order.

Though the Justice Department has issued an appeal, the injunction has left scores of people in limbo. In Clark County, home to an estimated 99,000 undocumented immigrants, about 41,500 people would be eligible for relief under Obama’s plan, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

“It has been very hard on the family,” said Nohemi’s grandmother, Nohemi Perez, a local activist who organizes pro-immigration rallies. “She is her father’s pride and joy. (Politicians) are playing with our feelings. We’re a game to them.”

The family is optimistic the lawsuit will be dismissed.

At May 1 rally organized by her grandmother, Nohemi nervously shared her story in front of a crowd of about 150 and offered a brief history lesson about America’s early settlers, hopeful it would inspire others to carry on their pro-immigrant message.

"What I want to say to the politicians is to really grow a heart," Nohemi told the group. "Really think about what you're doing."