Concord girl fights for her life on Congressional stage

On Aug. 7, Maria Isabel Bueso received a death sentence.

It wasn’t for any crime she committed; rather, it came in the form of a letter from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) informing her that she and her family would have to return to her native Guatemala by Sept. 16 or be deported.

Bueso, who lives in Concord, suffers from a rare genealogical disease that has stunted her growth and requires weekly injections at UCSF to stay alive. Ironically, she was invited to the U.S. at age 7 to participate in a clinical study of the rare disease, and now the medicine that keeps her and others like her healthy is FDA-approved.

But Bueso is part of the government’s medically deferred immigration policy and appeals to stay in the U.S. have been granted four times already – including once in the Trump administration.

However, the administration changed its policy and Bueso was denied. Leaving the U.S. would probably mean a quick and certain death for the vivacious 24-year-old, who graduated at the top of her class at Cal State East Bay and loves to give dance lessons to others with her condition.

Bueso quickly approached Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) for help, and the Concord Congressman made it his top priority in the past month. He announced the introduction of a private bill (H.R. 4225) to allow Bueso to stay in the U.S. to continue to receive treatment. On Aug. 30, Reps. DeSaulnier and 126 additional lawmakers wrote a bicameral letter to the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (ICE), and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement calling on the agencies to turn over any documents discussing the termination of medical deferred action by Sept. 13, 2019.

That didn’t happen.

Just last week, DeSaulnier called for an emergency meeting of the Civil Liberties and Civil Rights subcommittee of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, with USCIS and ICE to resolve the issue.

Just prior to the meeting, the California congressman and two other members of that subcommittee, Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Jamie Raskin (MD-08) — both with constituents with different but just as severe medical conditions as Bueso’s and issued deportation letters — held a press conference to publicize the severity of the Trump administration’s new policy.

At press time, there has been no decision on Bueso or others targeted for deportation.

Bueso’s story has attracted nationwide attention, from coverage in The New York Times and Washington Post to segments on Rachel Maddow’s show. DeSaulnier remains her champion, keeping a copy of Bueso’s denial letter with him always.

Bueso remains in her Concord home, still planning to get this week’s dose of her lifesaving medication at UCSF. And if she and her family are targeted for deportation, ICE agents face a tough fight.

“If you try to remove her [Bueso], bring a lot of busses because a lot of us will be arrested trying to protect her,” DeSaulnier said in the emergency meeting. “This is just a heartless policy. Someone needs to be held accountable. It makes me ashamed to be an American.”

He told the Pioneer that this lack of a resolution is like “psychological and bureaucratic torture” for Bueso and her family. However, he is hopeful his private bill just regarding Bueso will be passed by Congress and signed by President Trump, which will allow Bueso and her family to stay in the U.S. permanently and become naturalized citizens. Meanwhile, he and Pressley are authoring a bill to keep medically deferred immigrants in the U.S. as long as medically required or until their home countries have the adequate healthcare to keep them alive.

“Don’t keep torturing them,” DeSaulnier said. “Grant them [medically deferred immigrants] all an appeal and then work with us to find a permanent solution to this problem.”