A rally was held in Hartford Tuesday for a New Haven mother set to be deported to Bangladesh just days before her only child heads to college.
Salma Sikandar has two days left in the US. Her husband is on a hunger strike as supporters rallied of the Immigration Customs and Enforcement headquarters in Hartford, hoping for a last-minute miracle.
Sikandar, who came to the US from Bangladesh in 1999, overstayed her tourist visa, eventually filing a hardship application to stay in the country for her son, who is an American citizen. He will begin his freshman year at Quinnipiac University Monday.
The family, visibly emotional, gathered Tuesday morning in New Haven.
I’m having to worry about that in two days my mom could disappear from me and that’s never happened before. I’ve never spent a night without my parents. I’ve always been with my parents,” said Samir Mahmud, Salma’s son.
“I don’t ask anything too much. I just ask my wife to be with me. She is my strength. She is my everything. She is my life,” Anwar Mahmud, Salma’s husband, added.
US Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) is calling for an emergency stay.
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“I have asked ICE officials for the strongest discretion and consideration in this matter, and we are all hoping for a positive outcome. I believe forcing her to leave is counterproductive, what’s more it is cruel,” DeLauro said.
ICE said Saikandar has overstayed the requirement of her visa for more than 18 years. In a statement, the agency said in part:
“Since being ordered to be removed by an Immigration Judge in 2016, she has filed multiple appeals both to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) as well as in federal court that have been dismissed.”
ICE’s Board of Appeals is considering whether to reopen the case.
