Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Trans Lifeline co-founder Chaubal appears before immigration-court judge
by Carrie Maxwell, Windy City Times
2017-12-08

This article shared 1846 times since Fri Dec 8, 2017
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Trans Lifeline co-founder Nina Chaubal ( a transgender woman and citizen of India ) appeared in front of Chicago Immigration Court Judge Elizabeth Lang Nov. 29 for an administrative hearing where the Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) was pursuing a deportation case against her. About 15 supporters squeezed into the small courtroom to rally behind Chaubal and her U.S. citizen wife Greta Martela.

Prior to co-founding Trans Lifeline, Chaubal worked at Google as a software engineer. She has been in the U.S. since 2009 on a student visa and then a work visa when she graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

This court date stemmed from an incident with Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) in Arizona last December. Chaubal was detained for a week at the for-profit ICE detention center Eloy, 80 miles southeast of Phoenix. Eloy has been cited for its abusive policies against undocumented immigrants and transgender women.

She was released when ICE processed her bond payment after the New Year's holiday. Supporters started a crowd funding campaign to pay for her ensuing legal fees.

Chaubal and Martela co-founded the crisis hotline Trans Lifeline about three years ago to help transgender people like themselves. They were traveling from San Diego to their home in Chicago ( they have since moved to Northern California ) after a long fundraising trip for Trans Lifeline when they were stopped by ICE at a checkpoint in Arizona. Martela had originally thought about traveling through the Rocky Mountains but was worried about the winter weather, hence why they took the southern route through Arizona.

When ICE stopped their vehicle they detained Chaubal when they discovered she had an expired work visa even though the couple provided authorities with their marriage certificate. Like many transgender people, Chaubal's Indian passport did not match her gender identity, therefore outing her as a transgender woman. Martela explained that ICE was stopping everyone that day and questioning their citizenship.

"When I was arrested I was thinking about all the horror stories I had heard of trans women in prisons and detention centers being held in the men's unit or in solitary confinement," said Chaubal. "I was also afraid that the over armed border patrol guards would choose to use force. The first day, they moved me between facilities without telling me where I was and with no way to contact Greta."

"I was terrified that they were going to hurt Nina," said Martela. "The border patrol officers were clearly transphobic. Being stopped at a checkpoint and having my wife detained was a nightmare, something that I associate with totalitarian regimes. The border patrol agents lied to me about what would happen. They told me to drive to a parking lot and wait for her. They were taunting me in my pain and fear. They are the worst kind of bigots and cowards."

At the Nov. 29 hearing, Chaubal's immigration attorney Michael Jarecki argued in court that since U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS ) had already signed off on the couple's "good faith marriage" by approving a marriage-based petition at an interview in Oct. 2017 she should be allowed to stay in the country. Legal preparations for Chaubal's marriage-based green card filing were already in the works before Chaubal was detained. Jarecki noted that Chaubal's detention complicated her case on every level.

"At that time, many LGBTQ bi-national couples were extremely worried about immediate changes to immigration law and same-sex marriage once Trump was inaugurated," said Jarecki. "Nina's case was considered uncomplicated at first. Given that Nina's immigration history was 'clean' and she did not have a criminal history, it was anticipated that we would pursue the case directly with USCIS."

"During the Nov. 29 hearing none of the people who were fighting deportation were referred to by name," said Martela. "Instead, they referred to them only by their A number in a disgusting attempt to dehumanize everyone there, including my wife."

Additionally, ahead of the hearing Jarecki explained that he made a request to the DHS attorneys to join him in a motion to terminate the deportation proceedings and allow Chaubal to apply for her green card through USCIS due to well-known immigration court delays. DHS did not agree to these terms so Jarecki made a motion to terminate proceedings during the hearing to allow the USCIS to take jurisdiction.

Judge Lang did not agree to the termination request and instead ruled that Chaubal will have a final hearing in front of her in Feb. 2018 to determine if she will be granted the green card. Jarecki noted that Chaubal will be able to present her case at the Feb. 2018 hearing, including affidavits or written testimony from witnesses and her own testimony.

"The hearing relieved a lot of stress for me because they did not deport me that day," said Chaubal. "It was not the victory we wanted, but it let us keep moving forward."

"If the green card is approved in February, the case will be terminated because Nina will be approved for permanent resident status and the government will no longer have an argument that she is deportable," said Jarecki.


This article shared 1846 times since Fri Dec 8, 2017
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

WORLD Leaked messages, Panama action, author dies at 32, Japan court, out athletes
2024-03-15
Hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals were leaked in a report and framed as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer, according to ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools
2024-03-15
In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...


Gay News

College athletes sue NCAA over transgender policies
2024-03-15
Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among a group of college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on March 14, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing trans swimmer Lia Thomas ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ people attacked by mobs in Greece
2024-03-14
Just weeks after a landmark law granted same-sex couples in Greece the right to marry, nearly 200 people dressed in black chased a transgender couple through the town square in Thessaloniki, the country's "second city" and ...


Gay News

Florida settles 'Don't Say Gay' lawsuit
2024-03-11
On March 11, the state of Florida settled a multi-year lawsuit against the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, which limits how LGBTQ+ topics can be discussed and presented in schools, The Hill reported. The settlement agreement ...


Gay News

"X" gender marker now available on Illinois driver's licenses and state ID cards
2024-03-11
After several years of preparation, the Illinois Secretary of State's office is has been making the X gender designation available for non-binary residents and others not utilizing the M or F designations, since the beginning of ...


Gay News

WORLD Israeli reservist, man detained, Ghana bill, medic denied honor
2024-03-08
Hanania Ben-Shimon—the gay Israel Defense Forces reservist who was wounded as he killed one of the terrorists in the attack at the A-Za'ayem checkpoint near Ma'ale Adumim recently—published a post in which he pleaded that his ...


Gay News

Court blocks Texas attorney general's demand for PFLAG data
2024-03-01
From a press release: AUSTIN, Texas—Travis County District Court Judge Maria Cantú Hexel on March 1 blocked the latest effort by the Texas Attorney General's Office to persecute Texas families with transgender youth, temporarily haltin ...


Gay News

WORLD Canadian politics, Australian murders, Finnish study, 'Anatomy'
2024-03-01
Canadian conservatives are divided over an anti-trans policy that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith handed down in her province, The Guardian reported. The policy includes a ban on hormonal treatment, puberty ...


Gay News

Appeals court allows Ind. ban on gender-affirming care for minors
2024-03-01
On Feb. 27, a federal appeals court in Chicago allowed Indiana's ban on gender-affirming care to go into effect, removing a temporary injunction that U.S. District Court Judge James Patrick Hanlon issued last year, ABC News ...


Gay News

Ghana parliament passes harsh anti-LGBTQ+ bill
2024-02-29
On Feb. 28, Ghana's parliament unanimously passed a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill that has been condemned globally. The so-called Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act, which was introduced in the parliament in 2021, not only criminalizes ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Trailblazing judge and attorney Patricia M. Logue passes away
2024-02-26
The Honorable Patricia Logue ("Pat" to her friends, Trish" to her family) was a brilliant lawyer, a trailblazing jurist and a hero to the LGBTQ community. Pat's legacy includes numerous landmark cases she litigated over her ...


Gay News

Federal jury finds man guilty of killing trans woman in landmark case
2024-02-24
In a groundbreaking case, a federal jury in Columbia, South Carolina found Daqua Lameek Ritter guilty of killing transgender woman Dime Doe after deliberating for almost four hours, The State reported. It is the first time ...


Gay News

Unprecedented Alabama Supreme Court ruling undermins access to family-building healthcare, GLAD responds
2024-02-23
--From a press release - Feb. 23, 2024 (Boston) — Today, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) issued the following statement from Polly Crozier, GLAD's Director of Family Advocacy, on the Alabama Supreme Court decision ...


Gay News

WORLD Caribbean ruling, Pussy Riot, Russian raid, Canadian warning, anti-trans bar
2024-02-23
The top court in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines dismissed a challenge to colonial-era anti-gay laws, Reuters reported. Javin Johnson and Sean Macleish—two gay men who had pushed to decriminalize ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.