ONE IMMIGRANT AMONG
MANY SERVING OUR SICK
IN THE AGE OF COVID-19
By Christopher Kerosky
Immigrants
are among the many now fighting on the front lines of the corona virus
epidemic: in hospital emergency rooms and ICUs, nursing homes and acute-care
facilities, and emergency medical teams across the country. More than 3 million
immigrants work in the U.S. health care system, accounting for about 1 in 4 workers
in that field, according to research by Harvard Medical School. Approximately 29% of all doctors are
foreign-born and 23% of all nurses and nurse’s assistants, according to the
American Medical Association.
One
of these immigrants is Leonor Carreno—a certified nurse’s assistant (CNA) in
Sonoma County. Leonor has had a
particularly difficult immigrant path – including being jailed and almost
deported -- simply for getting a CNA license without having a green card. After years of fighting deportation, she
gained her legal status. And now like
many other immigrants across our country, Leonor is caring for elderly and sick
Americans-- those most at risk from the deadly corona virus.
Here’s
her story.
Leonor’s immigrant journey
Leonor
is a native of Oaxaca, a beautiful but impoverished part of southern Mexico
with a large indigenous population. She
made the long perilous journey to the United States with her three-year-old son
in 1998. They crossed the border near Calexico without papers, at a time when
our borders were easier to pass through.
The two joined her husband in Petaluma, where she still lives today.
Leonor
went to work on a farm at first, working long hours at low wages to help her
family survive. At nights she learned
English and studied for the CNA exam, which she took and passed in 2002. Leonor began to work at a post-acute care
facility and worked a second job on nights and weekends as a caregiver in
private homes.
A
second son was born two years later. Her
life was demanding, with two children and two jobs, but the future looked
bright.
Arrest and Deportation Court.
Then, in 2011, her happy life fell apart suddenly and
unexpectedly. A disgruntled employee
reported her and six other undocumented nurses working at the facility. All seven women were arrested and held
without bail. Leonor was incarcerated
for 21 days. When she was finally
released by law enforcement authorities, ICE agents took her into custody and
began deportation proceedings.
Leonor’s only crime: obtaining a certified nursing assistant’s
license as an undocumented immigrant.
The deportation case against her lasted 8 years, languishing
in the immigration court in San Francisco while she and her family awaited her
fate. Finally, last year, an immigration judge approved her application for
cancellation of deportation, finding that she had “good moral character” and
that her U.S.-born son would suffer exceptional hardship if she would be
deported to Mexico.
Faith, Family and Work.
Like so many immigrants, Leonor’s life has been centered on
her family, her faith and her work.
Throughout her ordeal, Leonor’s faith in God has sustained her. She is very active in her church, the Iglesia
Pentecostal Unida, a Spanish-language Christian church in Petaluma. Leonor assists the pastor with services and
volunteers her time to the religious community. “I feel so blessed by God for
granting me the right to stay in this country.”
Her family is another pillar of her life. Leonor is very close to her two sons, David,
24, and Ovid Josue, 18. Both sons appreciate the sacrifices their mother has
made to provide them a life in this country.
David and Ovid have both followed in their mother’s footsteps, pursuing
their own careers in the medical field.
Leonor continues to work two jobs, caring for sick and the
elderly. When she regained her
right-to-work, Leonor went back to work full-time at her post-acute care
facility. And she still works a second
job as a private care-giver.
Immigrants on the front lines.
Her story is not completely unique. Our nation’s hospitals and other health care
facilities have long relied on immigrants to fill the role of doctors, nurses,
EMT workers, and medical technicians.
Now they are serving their adopted country when it is a particularly
dangerous time to be caring for our sick.
As of April 2nd, the CDC has reported that 9,282 health care workers
have contracted COVID-19, 723 have been hospitalized and 27 have died. Surely those numbers will continue to climb.
Still they serve.
“It has always been such a special blessing for me to work caring
for the sick and elderly,” says Leonor.
“and now I feel particularly fortunate to be able to contribute to this
country in this difficult moment for all of us.”
In fact, Leonor, the good fortune is ours.
************************************************************************
CHRISTOPHER A. KEROSKY of the law firm of KEROSKY PURVES & BOGUE has practiced
law more than 25 years and has been recognized as one of the top immigration
lawyers in Northern California for 10 years by“Super Lawyers”
www.SuperLawyers.com
. He graduated from University of California, Berkeley Law School
and was a former counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington
D.C. His firm has offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles and six
other locations in California.
WARNING: The foregoing is an article discussing legal issues. It is
not intended to be a substitute for legal advice. We recommend that you get
competent legal advice specific to your case.
