Public Employee Press

Deportee

That’s what they’ll call Local 1597 member Yuen Lee if the Bush administration succeeds in its merciless effort to tear him away from his family.

By ALFREDO ALVARADO

Under the harsh provisions of a 1996 immigration law, Local 1597 member Yuen Shing Lee could soon be deported from the United States, the nation he has called home since he was 11, the land where he married, works honestly and hard and has children and grandchildren.

Ironically, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act was enacted under President Bill Clinton and is being enforced relentlessly by the Bush administration. The drastic change in U.S. immigration law is devastating immigrant communities nationwide.

The 1996 law means that even minor misdemeanors and crimes like shoplifting and driving under the influence can now lead to deportation, no matter how long the victim has been a lawful permanent resident. Since the law was passed deportations have increased, but Yuen Shing Lee is one of the thousands who are fighting back.

A Custodial Assistant with the Dept. of Citywide Administrative Services at the Richmond County Criminal Court on Staten Island, Lee came to New York from Hong Kong as a legal permanent resident in 1973 when he was just 11. He grew up attending public schools and playing handball in the Bronx.

His elderly parents are naturalized U.S. citizens who rely on Lee, their only son, for his support in dealing with their serious health issues. Lee has been married to Local 372 member Arline Lee for 17 years.

In 1998, he got involved in a mail fraud scheme with his first wife’s brother and uncle. He was arrested and found guilty — his first and only brush with the law.

“From the day I was arrested I fully cooperated with the authorities,” said Lee, while he waited for a phone call from his mother, who was hospitalized for a kidney operation. “I paid my debt to society by serving six months and completed my probation.” He is also paying a fine of $115,000.

His defense lawyer at the time assured him that he was not at risk of deportation. But when he was released from jail, he was sent to an immigration detention center in Oakdale, La., where he spent two years and received adeportation order. In 2002, a judge in the federal district court ruled that Lee is a U.S. national because he has demonstrated permanent allegiance to the United States and the law allowed a person to be a noncitizen national if permanent allegiance was shown. However, pressed by the Bush administration, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision.

“The discretion for judges to consider individual circumstances has been eliminated,” said his legal counsel, Xinyin Chi, who works at Washington Square Legal Services.

Unfortunately for Lee, time is running out.

“I don’t know anyone in China and I don’t speak Chinese,” said Lee, who hopes the government will drop his case. Santos Crespo, executive vice president of Local 372, has contacted the office of Congress member Nydia Velázquez with the hope that she can sponsor a “private bill” to waive his deportation.

“All we ask is the chance to stay together in this country, take care of our aging parents and watch our grandchildren grow up,” said Lee’s wife, Arline.

Waging a petition campaign with the support of union members and immigrant advocates like Families For Freedom and Washington Square Legal Services, Lee is fighting hard to stay united with his wife, children and parents in the only country that he has ever known.

“What am I going to do in China and what about my family?” asks the Bronx native.

“I believe this legal, hard-working immigrant deserves another chance; a chance to continue serving his city as a public employee and a chance to continue providing for his family,” said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts.

Members can support Yuen Lee by sending e-mails to FreedomforLee@gmail.com or his legal team at Washington Square Legal Services, Att: Jennifer Freidman, 245 Sullivan St. New York, NY 10012.