News / Law
Arkansas girl with illegal status forced to return to Mexico
There are close to 2 million immigrant children without legal status in the U.S and many of them face the prospect of eventual deportation, much like an Arkansas girl who must now leave the country and return to Mexico.
Kaiti Yasmine Posadas-Tidwell, 18, was abandoned at age 4 and left with an Arkansas for a “few days.” The Tidwells took her in and have taken care of her since then, but now after all these years and being legally adopted by Jane Tidwell, Kaiti must leave the U.S. because the INS has denied her requests for legal status at least six times.
In some instances an Arkansas immigration attorney can help a person get the necessary documents or citizenship.
“I’m a girl with no country, but this is my country. This is all I know, this is where I grew up and this where I should stay.” Kaiti says. But she won’t be staying and will return to Mexico by May 5th with no papers or citizenship in that country.
The Tidwells are not sure how long Kaiti will have to stay in Mexico, but generally it takes a few years for an immigration lawyer to get a deported immigrant the necessary visas or green cards before they will allowed back in the country.
Kaiti and her adopted mother are now paying the price for a decision they didn’t make, much like millions of underage immigrants who were brought here illegally by their parents, who had the best of intentions, but did not think if the future ramifications.
There is no crime in wanting a better life for your family but entering the states without hiring an Arkansas immigration attorney to get legal documents can come at a high price in the future.
