By Tessa Lemos Del Pino | Executive Director

In 2014, when Bethany Jackson, now legal director, began volunteering as an attorney for Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors, one of the first clients she was paired with was a woman we will call Juanita. Juanita’s journey to lawful immigration status and the reunification of her family would take six years.

Juanita was a mother of four who provided for her family by working as a street vendor in a Latin American country selling snacks and juices. Unfortunately, gangs began targeting Juanita, and her earnings were repeatedly taken from her.

It got to the point where Juanita was no longer safe and had to find another way to provide for her family. She made the difficult decision to make her way to America to look for work. Juanita’s oldest daughter travelled with her and the other children stayed with family until they could be reunited.

Even in the United States, Juanita was not completely safe. As can be the case, unscrupulous people target undocumented immigrants in the United States. In her time here, Juanita was the victim of domestic violence and became pregnant by her abuser.

While Juanita’s fifth child is a U.S. citizen, it meant that Juanita’s mixed status family might be split up if she were deported. That possibility was particularly distressing for Juanita.

Congress created U-Visas for individuals like Juanita: a person who has been the victim of a certain type of serious crime in the United States, who suffered substantial injury as a result of the crime, and who cooperated in the investigation and prosecution of the crime.

A U visa holder has permission to live and work in the United States and may later apply for a green card. By providing an incentive for immigrants to report crime and assist law enforcement, the U visa makes us all safer.

At a TNJFON intake clinic, TNJFON’s founding director, Adrienne Kittos, explained to Juanita that she was potentially eligible for a U visa. Bethany took on Juanita’s U visa case as a volunteer attorney.

Six years after Bethany first met Juanita, Juanita and all of her children were lawfully united and those old enough to work are authorized for employment. “I remember when her family was finally reunited,” said Bethany. “Juanita stopped by our office with all of her children and told us that ‘her heart was so full, she felt like it could burst’.”

Juanita’s story exemplifies how complicated immigration stories can be. This is a story of poverty, gang violence, sexual assault and mixed-status families; it is also a story of a woman who wanted to provide for and protect her family and overcame unimaginable circumstances to do so.

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Juanita's Story: A Mother's Determination