In Emotional Univision Interview Viviana Hervis Shares Her Fight to Save Her Husband Christian from Deportation
Viviana Hervis, U.S citizen, mother of three U.S. citizen children, and wife to Christian Hervis, shared her story with Univision as she continues to fight to keep her family together.
Earlier this week, we introduced you to Christian Hervis, who is currently in detention and facing imminent deportation. Despite Christian’s I-130 approval (which puts him in the queue to apply for a green card), ICE agents are preparing to tear him away from his American family. A petition protesting Christian’s deportation has gained over 500 signatures.
In an interview with Univision yesterday, Viviana shared how her children, ages 2, 5 and 7, are processing their father’s absence, “Since they took Christian, my youngest son refuses to eat. It’s been a big production to get him to eat anything, and so that he wouldn’t keep wondering where his father was. Now — he doesn’t even ask about his dad, and I am scared that he will forget about his father. My second son, who is five years old, Jayden – he is taking it a lot harder. He is just always angry.”
Viviana also addressed the incident that set off Christian’s deportation. In 2010 Christian was charged with a DUI, which resulted in no property damage or personal injury of any kind. Despite paying all the fines and going through all the necessary courses, this mistake still haunts him in 2015. Said Viviana, “My husband had a DUI in 2010. It is something that he regrets every day, and is ashamed of what he did back then… I just want to let young people out there know that that they should think about the consequences their actions could have. My husband is currently paying for something he did 5 years ago.”
When DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson announced new deportation guidelines in November 2014, he instructed agents to weigh both the positive and negative factors in a case before making the life-altering decision to separate someone permanently from their home and family. Instead, as we’ve seen with many other cases, ICE is treating that memo like a deportation checklist, looking for any reason to deport someone and ignoring the factors that would qualify someone for a reprieve.
Because of this, Christian could be removed from the country any day now, and permanently separated from his loving family. Despite the long hours at her job, and a debilitating medical condition, Viviana said she will continue to fight for her husband. Adding, “Every time I go to the supermarket, or wherever I go, I try to place these flyers to let people know about the petition.”
To watch Viviana’s full interview click here.
To sign the petition to stop Christian’s deportation click here.
