My name is Claudette Hubbard. I am a 62-year-old Jamaican immigrant and have lived in the United States for the past 45 years. I came here to join my sister when I was 17-years-old. I was forced to leave Jamaica because it was not safe for me to live there as a young lesbian.
I have started this campaign to call on my community for support to help me survive, to pay my bills and put food on the table, while I fight my deportation case. Any amount, $15, $25, $50 would be extremely gracious and helpful to make sure that I can make it through this ongoing battle. The money will be go towards rent, gas, healthcare and meals.
Since coming to the United States, I have had two children and two beautiful grandchildren. In 1992, during the height of the War on Drugs, I was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for a nonviolent drug offense. There are few words to describe how devastating it was to be separated from my kids during their childhood and teenage years, and to miss out on so much of my grandchildren’s growing up. By the time I was released, my oldest daughter was 35 years old.
At the end of my prison sentence, right before I was to be reunited with my family, ICE moved to deport me, which meant I spent another two years incarcerated in an immigration jail. I spent that time trying to navigate the complicated legal immigration system to stay in the United States. Recently, my daughter and generous people across the country (thank you!!) raised money to pay for my bond and I was finally free, for the first time in 22 years, on April 24, 2014 date.
But the work continues. Today, I am still fighting my case to stay in this country, my home. I have filed my case under the Convention Against Torture, which says that the U.S. cannot deport someone who will face torture in their native country. In Jamaica, the government and police routinely turn a blind eye and participate in the torture of lesbians. “Corrective rape” is a common threat and reality for lesbian women and it is not safe for any woman to be openly lesbian in Jamaica. If I am sent back, I am more than likely to be tortured. In fact, I have already experienced torture in Jamaica a number of times, including in 1987 when my partner was killed following a mob attack.
My case has been in the courts for the last seven years. It has been so very hard to live in this limbo, not knowing what my future holds. Now, I am about to file my next appeal and I am praying that this time I will win. In the meantime, I am struggling to pay my bills, to cover rent, to survive. The government has denied me a work permit so I spend 12 hours a day, seven days a week, trying to figure out how to stay above water. For years I have dreamed of opening a Jamaican food truck here in Los Angeles, because there is no Jamaican food! I look forward to the day when I can start making that dream a reality. I can’t thank you enough for any and all donations, and for taking the time to read my story.
Your support ensures my survival.
Jah guide and bless!
ONE LOVE
Claudette
I have started this campaign to call on my community for support to help me survive, to pay my bills and put food on the table, while I fight my deportation case. Any amount, $15, $25, $50 would be extremely gracious and helpful to make sure that I can make it through this ongoing battle. The money will be go towards rent, gas, healthcare and meals.
Since coming to the United States, I have had two children and two beautiful grandchildren. In 1992, during the height of the War on Drugs, I was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for a nonviolent drug offense. There are few words to describe how devastating it was to be separated from my kids during their childhood and teenage years, and to miss out on so much of my grandchildren’s growing up. By the time I was released, my oldest daughter was 35 years old.
At the end of my prison sentence, right before I was to be reunited with my family, ICE moved to deport me, which meant I spent another two years incarcerated in an immigration jail. I spent that time trying to navigate the complicated legal immigration system to stay in the United States. Recently, my daughter and generous people across the country (thank you!!) raised money to pay for my bond and I was finally free, for the first time in 22 years, on April 24, 2014 date.
But the work continues. Today, I am still fighting my case to stay in this country, my home. I have filed my case under the Convention Against Torture, which says that the U.S. cannot deport someone who will face torture in their native country. In Jamaica, the government and police routinely turn a blind eye and participate in the torture of lesbians. “Corrective rape” is a common threat and reality for lesbian women and it is not safe for any woman to be openly lesbian in Jamaica. If I am sent back, I am more than likely to be tortured. In fact, I have already experienced torture in Jamaica a number of times, including in 1987 when my partner was killed following a mob attack.
My case has been in the courts for the last seven years. It has been so very hard to live in this limbo, not knowing what my future holds. Now, I am about to file my next appeal and I am praying that this time I will win. In the meantime, I am struggling to pay my bills, to cover rent, to survive. The government has denied me a work permit so I spend 12 hours a day, seven days a week, trying to figure out how to stay above water. For years I have dreamed of opening a Jamaican food truck here in Los Angeles, because there is no Jamaican food! I look forward to the day when I can start making that dream a reality. I can’t thank you enough for any and all donations, and for taking the time to read my story.
Your support ensures my survival.
Jah guide and bless!
ONE LOVE
Claudette