Trump-Era Laws Are Still Causing Deportation and Family Separation
Queer 26 Board Member needs our help keeping his child with him due to anti-immigration and anti-LGBTQ+ policies. Here's how you can help fight against injustice.
Jérôme Roux is a French immigrant who has lived in the United States for 15 years and is currently stuck between two unfair situations involving France and the U.S. He has been unable to get French citizenship for his biological baby conceived via surrogacy. He has been threatened with deportation through allegations of marriage fraud in the United States even though he lived with an American man for nine years. The situation is fraught with anti-immigration and anti-LGBTQ+ policies, and unfortunately, the unfair practices in both countries affect many other marginalized individuals as well.
“There's a U.S. immigration issue, and then there's a French government issue,” explained Queer 26 board member, Jérôme Roux. “I first started my life here in the U.S. in New York, and I moved to LA at the end of 2019. When I first moved to the U.S., I was transferred from my Paris-based employer to the U.S. headquarters in 2007 under a working visa. I was then sponsored by other employers and ultimately got a self-sponsored visa, which allowed me to work for any company so I wouldn't need to be sponsored by an organization. When I got married, I was able to have a green card, which I thought was better. I put the application in with my attorneys. And at the time, it was under the Obama administration. My green card was approved upfront without any issue and pretty fast as well. And then Trump got elected. My life was going from the American dream to the American nightmare.”
Jérôme Roux divorced his American partner after a nine-year relationship and got exceedingly challenged to extend his green card even before the separation. Instead, Trump enacted policies that would cut immigration and the granting of visas and green cards by 50% between 2018 and 2021.
“At the same time, more or less, [Trump] created another policy specifically targeted to, I should say, against LGBTQIA+ immigrants,” explained Roux. “For instance, he prevented husbands or wives of diplomatic organization employees to get their visas or green cards to come to the US.”
Jérôme went above and beyond to ensure that all the necessary documents and paperwork were submitted promptly to renew his visa. But unfortunately, like many immigrants during this time, he was met with rejection and caught in an ongoing battle that would disrupt his life indefinitely.
“At the end of 2019, early 2020, I got another letter from immigration, saying that my green card renewal was denied again,” said Roux. “So, I got in touch with my previous attorneys and explained the situation, and they told me since Trump signed those new policies, immigration services have been doing pretty much whatever they want. ‘We've been seeing many cases like yours. We don't even want to suggest that you hire us again because we will be stealing your money. After all, we're at a point where they do what they want. So, we will feel very uncomfortable charging you for something that will most likely not make any difference. However, what we recommend to you right now, although there is no guarantee whatsoever, based on what's going on, is to get as many notarized affidavits from people whether it's friends or your ex-husband and his family.’”
Jérôme ended up obtaining 30 notarized affidavits, including one from his ex-husband and submitted all the proper paperwork. However, following the rules and recommendations only made the situation go from bad to worse.
“What's even crazier is that it's after I provided all of those additional elements that Immigration Services started to threaten me with deportation,” said Jérôme. “On top of that, they physically confiscated my green card. They held my right to work in the country. I was allowed to stay but not to work for almost ten months. This also extremely impacted my career. I've been treated as if I was a criminal. They've been so relentless and not collaborative, even with members from the Congress who have been recently helping me. It's even scarier because they're not listening, and they are bringing allegations of marriage fraud which is so intense because it is a federal crime.”
What’s even more concerning about this entire ordeal is that Jérôme faces being separated from his biological son, who was conceived via surrogacy on American soil and still holds American citizenship. His baby, Phoenix, is unable to obtain French citizenship because he is a child conceived via surrogacy, while Jérôme is facing deportation.
“I happen to be a father of an almost six-month-old baby. And I'm petrified because God knows what Immigration Services are able to do. Well, we all know that Trump separated many, many children from their parents. And some surrogate babies cannot get French citizenship anymore. I understand that surrogacy is still illegal in France, and that's not what I'm debating. What I'm very shocked by is the fact that France is violating and infringing on the most basic human right. I did not adopt my son. I'm the biological father. So, it's a violation of birthright. Although it seems to be even more of a challenge for the French LGBTQ+ community (and also in many other countries), this law specifically, is valid across the board, regardless of your sexual orientation.”
What’s the best way to aid Jérôme Roux in his situation? To bring awareness to the situation, Jérôme made a website explaining this difficult immigration situation and the laws surrounding it, as well as the context with the French government for his son’s citizenship issue.
“I want to make this statement not only to hopefully help my son and I, but all members of the LGBTQIA+ immigrant community, as well as other parents of surrogate children. Not just for the sake of Phoenix and I, but because it’s 2022 and those discriminations are still happening, and it's not acceptable,” said Roux. “Enough is enough. So, I was advised to develop a website to increase the levels of awareness around these issues. I hope to potentially generate some media pressure on top of the current political push. The initial version has been launched, and what would be very helpful for us and other members of the communities would be to share it and ask people to share. I hope that at some point, it may get to the right hands and ultimately achieve its mission.”
Please visit Jérôme Roux’s website at jeromexphoenix.com, follow him on Instagram and Facebook, and share his posts about his fight to stay with his son in America.