Dear Olga,
I just thought that I should write you to describe to you what I think will
happen. I don't know for certain that things will go this way but I think
that it is likely.
I have been talking to Macys, trying to get them to drop or lower the charges.
They are not budging. They say they cannot talk to me, only you or your lawyer
(Allen). Allen didn't think it would be a good idea for him to talk to Macys
before. I will ask him again.
I have been thinking of writing the DA a letter explaining your problems
to see if they may lower the charges further. I will ask Allen if that would
be a good idea.
I got a letter from the probation department. I called the officer and left
voice mail. I told her that I'd like to make a statement and send it to them.
I did not want to fill out the form they gave me because it was for people
who wanted to further press charges and I do not want to do that.
Your sentence will be for 4 months, 3 with good behavior. So probably around
January 20th you will be released from Elmwood. But the INS will
pick you up and transfer you to INS detention which is on Monterey Road. I
tried to read up about INS detention and what the facilities are like. Unfortunately
the San Jose INS facility did not have its own web site. But reading about
other city's INS detention facilities game me the impression that they might
be pretty nice and may include contact visits.
When you get to INS detention immediately file a form requesting a bond
hearing. You will go before an immigration judge who will look at your situation
and set the bond amount. I will also contact Jim Lopez so he can be with
you and represent you for this. You might also want to ask them where this
court is and if I can come to the hearing. Jim should also know this and
I will ask him about it.
Once bond is set I can bond you out. You will be able to come home and we
can be together. You can also start your therapy.
Eventually we will need to appear before the immigration judge again and
he will determine whether or not you are to be removed from the US. They call
it removal proceedings not deportation but it really means
the same thing. If the judge determines that you are removable he will probably
grant you voluntary departure, which means he allows you to leave the US
voluntarily by a certain date.
I was very saddened to learn that the grand theft charge still makes you
removable. I had gotten my hopes up high that we were in the clear regarding
the INS. I also got your hopes up and I am sorry for that. I read the INS
law wrong. It says that if you commit a crime of moral turpitude within 5
years of being admitted to the US and the punishment that could be
given is one year or more then you are deportable. The problem is
that grand theft is punishable by jail not exceeding one year which
means that it could be a full year therefore qualifies for the one
year or more phrase in the INS law.
I do not know how strict an immigration court will be. They may say "Grand
theft could be a one year sentence, therefore she's deportable" or they could
take into account your medical history and show mercy. I fear they won't show
mercy. One thing the INS officier did tell me was that immigration court
is like regular courts and they do take everything into account and can show
mercy. Maybe I'm just worrying too much but the thought of losing you is
unbearable to me.
At this point we can file a waiver asking for permission to have you stay.
They base this waiver on whether or not your leaving would be an extreme
hardship to me or Danni. I have been thinking for almost two years what
extreme hardship I would have. I do have some things that I think are extreme
hardship but I don't know if they would qualify. The judge looks at everything
and bases his decision on the total of everything combined.
If the waiver is turned down then we could appeal to the Board of Immigration
Affairs (BIA). But we can only appeal based on matters of law. We cannot simply
appeal to get another try or a different opinion. We need to show that the
immigration judge made an error when applying the law.
Another thing in our favor is that the immigration judges here in San Francisco
are pretty easy going. We may not have to go as far as filing a waiver. They
may also set the bond pretty low, which would be good.
But in the meantime when we are able to spend time together we must work
hard on solving your problems and our problems. We need to be able to go into
court and show them how much progress you've made and that our marriage will
be a success. That will help our case a lot. You cannot, at all, make any
mistakes by breaking the law or getting into trouble with the law. It will
kill our case, our marriage and our relationship for good.
Sorry, another serious letter. I will write you a love letter next. But
I hope it helps to prepare you for what's to come. Do not fear it. All we
can do is the best that we can and to hope for the best. We cannot predict
the future nor can we make it happen. All we can do is do our best, our parts,
and try to get a favorable outcome.
We cannot let this hang over our head with worry either. That will not help
us. Instead we should enjoy our time together and do what we can to help things
go our way.
I love you very much.