Lynn, Massachusetts mother seeking asylum for years now faces impending deportation: “The fear is real”
By Penny Kmitt, Logan Hall
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LYNN, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Dozens of people in Lynn, Massachusetts are protesting the impending deportation of a mother from Guatemala.
Mariola Perez came to the United States 16 years ago and has been seeking asylum here for more than a decade. She has a 15-year-old son with complex medical needs who is a U.S. citizen. Perez has worked in Lynn as a trained medical interpreter and para-educator in the city’s public schools.
Perez said she was told to expect to be detained at her next regularly scheduled check-in with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Burlington on Monday. She has not clarified exactly who told her this or where she might be deported.
“The fear is real. The fear of the possibility of not seeing my son graduate from high school, or not being able to keep driving him to his soccer game and becoming a professional soccer player. I can’t even explain to you the mental health toll that has taken on my family, despite of all the support I’m getting,” Perez said at a rally for her in Lynn on May 6.
Another rally was held for her Sunday night at Red Rock Park in Lynn.
“Mariola is a beloved member of our community. She’s a mom, you can see her here with her son, and we are not going to stand by and watch her get ripped away needlessly and cruelly,” said Isaac Simon Hodes from the community group Lynn United for Change. “We’ve got her back. The community is standing together to say no to this deportation (and) yes to keeping this community together.”
Perez is also getting support from the mayor, city councilors and fellow teachers.
“We’re here to show not just support to her, but to all of our immigrant brothers and sisters and siblings that are going through this difficult time,” said Phill O’Connor of the Lynn teachers’ union.
“She comes and supports us to have important meetings, important information to be translated for the community,” said Lynn resident Lupita Panameno. “As a friend, as a mother, as a community member, she is so valuable.”
CBS News Boston has reached out to both ICE and the agency’s field office in Burlington, Massachusetts for comment on Perez’s case but there has been no response.
Lynn, Massachusetts is 13 miles north of Boston.
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