With help from her union, students at the school where she works, and their parents and other community members, Mariola Perez, an immigrant from Guatemala, is fighting moves by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport her.
Sixteen years ago Perez fled to the U.S. to escape the poverty, discrimination and abuse she faced as an Indigenous Mayan in her home country. Now a member of the teachers’ union in Lynn, Massachusetts, Perez has built a life for herself and her U.S.-born son working as a paraprofessional at Cobbet Elementary School. She is also trained as a medical interpreter and volunteers her services to community members.
Perez has been tracked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement since being arrested for a traffic violation in 2013, a charge that was dismissed when she paid a $140 fine. Since then she has appeared at yearly check-ins with ICE officials in their Burlington, Massachusetts, office. But this year was different. ICE agents told her to report on May 11 and be prepared for detainment or deportation.
As soon as the word got out, her union, co-workers, friends and others rallied to her defense. On May 6, Jessica Tang, president of the Massachusetts American Federation of Teachers; Lynn Teachers Union President Phil O’Connor; and Jared Nicholson, Lynn’s mayor, organized a rally in front of City Hall to demand that ICE let Perez stay.
“Deporting her only separates her from her son,” Nicholson told the crowd, “and deprives students and families of the work she does for this community.”
Tang said that many families told her they wanted to speak out on behalf of the longtime educator but feared coming to the rally, afraid they’d also be targeted by ICE.
On May 10, the community held a picnic for Perez in Red Rock Park. The event was titled “This Mother’s Day, keep Mariola home.” It was built by the American Federation of Teachers. Even her boss, Lisa Cullivan White, the principal at Cobbet, showed up. She spoke of the impact of Perez’s work “helping students learn, grow and believe in themselves.”
Perez told them she wondered if one day she’d be forced to say goodbye to her son. This is not something a “human being should go through,” she said.
More than 5,000 people have signed a petition demanding ICE and state officials “Stop the deportation of Mariola — keep this mom and educator in her community.”
Thousands fight deportation
“Mariola has told us again and again this isn’t just about her,” said Isaac Hodes, executive director of Lynn United for Change, the group circulating the petition. “It’s also about the thousands in Massachusetts and the millions around the country fighting similar threats of deportation.”
On May 11 Perez arrived at the ICE offices in Burlington with a crowd of supporters. And she walked back out free, at least for now. “Today, DHS [Department of Homeland Security] made a decision not to detain Mariola,” Alec Larson, her attorney, said. A new “check-in” date is set for November and Perez has finally been granted a “reasonable fear interview,” which could lead to her being considered for asylum, something she has sought for years.
“To this day, she has not been provided an opportunity to tell her story and to pursue the relief we believe she’s eligible for,” Larson said.
“I am so, so grateful for you being here, for your presence, for all your support, and your help,” Perez told supporters after leaving the ICE interview. “And for showing this country that we are human beings.”