Let this soldier’s wife stay in U.S.

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Updated: December 18, 2011 5:17PM

I doubt that President Barack Obama — or, for that matter, any other Democrat or Republican public official — has the guts to look in the eyes of a U.S. soldier who has served in Kuwait and tell him that his wife will be deported and his family separated.

But this is what could happen to Rosa, wife of Army Spec. Hector Nunez, when her humanitarian visa expires on Dec. 19. A family lawyer is weighing whether she should now seek a permanent visa or a one-year extension of the temporary permit, but I’d like to suggest that the feds step in and end this uncertainty now — simply let Rosa stay.

Rosa grew up and went to school in Chicago, has never committed a crime and married a soldier who was willing to die for our country.

“My wife grew up as an American,” Hector told me. “She should be allowed to stay in the country she calls home, with her husband and kids.”

Rosa, 27, came to Chicago with her family illegally when she was 6 years old. Some of her siblings have since become citizens or legal residents, but she did not. Rosa and Hector have been married for six years. Hector and Rosa are now expecting a second child soon.

In 2010, when Hector learned that he was going to be deployed to Afghanistan, he and Rosa decided they had better get her legal status cleared up before he shipped out.

Following some bad advice from a lawyer, the couple flew with their infant child to Ciudad Juarez for an interview at the U.S. Consulate. But far from resolving Rosa’s legal status, she was barred for 10 years from the country she has called home for most of her life.

Hector sought the assistance of Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Chicago), who obtained a one-year humanitarian visa for Rosa. The visa was issued on Dec. 20, 2010, in Mexico City.

Hector flew there to meet Rosa and their son and they all came back to Chicago the same day.

Last summer, the couple and their son attended a rally in Chicago to urge Obama to stop deporting non-criminal immigrants through the controversial federal program Secure Communities. Hector told the crowd that his family’s case was an example of how a broken immigration system separates families.

Last August, after mounting criticism about the Secure Communities program, the Obama administration announced that it would focus on deporting serious criminals and review 300,000 cases of immigrants facing deportation who did not pose a danger to public safety or national security.

Well, here is a case that most sensible Americans would agree needs to be reviewed.

Hector said that it was very difficult when his wife was stuck in Mexico for six months and he cannot imagine her being away for 10 years.

“It would be devastating for our family,” he told me.

Obama has the power to grant a permanent visa to a soldier’s wife.

Seems like an easy call.

But if Obama fails to do so and Rosa is deported, let’s see if he personally delivers the bad news to Army Spec. Hector Nunez.