Weasel War Dance

Good Lord did I really just attend the eighth Immigration Hearing?  I know we’re coming to the end of this nightmare, but sometimes it’s hard for me to comprehend what we’re going through and what has been lost.  Alberto has been detained by USICE for 149 days as of today, but he’s been in jail for a grand total of 331 days.  That means in just over a month he will have been in jail for a year.  Ashley has had her father nearby for almost an entire year.  Maybe in a way this is yet another blessing in disguise since it has given Ashley a chance to get to know her father.  God willing Alberto will be able to come home before too much longer.

I arrived before Graciela as usual and waited for her in the ‘room of many torments’ found within the bowels of USICE hell.  This was yet another visit where I passed through security without much commentary on behalf of the guards, although I noticed the return of their self-important smirks.  I swear they only asked me for my appointment letter because there was someone who came in the door right behind me.  I stated that I was here, yet again, for my husband’s immigration hearing and passed through the metal detector without issue.  I mumbled on the way out that I would be seeing them next month.  I attribute my defeatist attitude to sleep deprivation; luckily these moods rarely last for very long.  Graciela was the last attorney to arrive, so I anticipated that we would not get in until sometime after 10.  This is why I always bring a book.

It was a quarter after 10 when we were finally allowed to pass through the portal of misery.  The funny thing about this door is the number of ways someone can gain access to the labyrinth that is USICE detention and removal division; there is the key pad, a sensor for a card key, a finger print scanner, and a regular lock.  I have only seen people use the keypad, so it’s possible all the other methods of entry are deactivated.  Judge Whatshisface’s clerk leads us down the taupe hallway to the only open door that leads to the court room.  Boris Badenov is representing the government this time and the first thought that came to mind was, He still looks like a weasel!  Or maybe he’s more ferrety than weaselly, either way he looks like a member from the Mustelidae family.  I wonder if he does the weasel war dance behind closed doors before each hearing.

So we got our continuance and Judge Whatshisface again ordered DHS to pressure USCIS on our case.  He stated that if USICS approves our petition for the adjustment of status, he will terminate the proceedings without us having to return to the courtroom.  I was happy enough since I was able to talk with Alberto right afterwards.  This is the reason I go to the hearings, it’s my opportunity to see my husband face-to-face instead through a TV monitor.

The medical appointment on Friday went smoothly, and Alberto told me the Doctor asked about his daughter.  It appears that the Doctor has empathy for people like us, and isn’t just doing exams for the money.  I talked to Sally again and she told me that the company that processes their labs will not have the results until Wednesday since they were closed over the weekend and do not run lab tests on Mondays.  Ni modo, we’ve already waited so long just to get the medical exam done, what are a few more days?

I went to visit Alberto on Tuesday as usual and again on Thursday.  I remember the conversation, or at least part of it, from Thursday because Alberto told me the jail nurse had been to see him again.  They needed to run a blood test because the Tuberculosis test came back positive for a latent infection.  He was tested for TB each time he was moved from one jail to another and now he has an infection?  Wouldn’t they have quarantined him if he was infected?  I did some research and discovered that a latent TB infection is when the bacteria is present, but not active.  With a latent infection the person is not contagious, but has the potential to have it develop an active case of Tuberculosis.

When I got a copy of the medical report, it mentioned the latent Tuberculosis infection, but there was something else on the chest X-ray that has me worried.  It is noted that Alberto has an enlarged heart.  According to the information I’ve read, an enlarged heart (cardiomegaly) in itself is not a condition, but typically a symptom of something else that is wrong.  It was noted on the X-ray that no signs of heart disease were observed, so at least that’s something.  I wonder if it would be a good idea to contact the Doctor that performed the exam to see if she has any thoughts about the cause of this condition.

“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it.”

Jesse Jackson

Ciao