A teen was caught in immigration limbo. So Des Moines schools' superintendent and his wife sheltered

A teen was caught in immigration limbo. So Des Moines schools' superintendent and his wife sheltered a stranger.
Rekha Basu, rbasu@dmreg.com Published 12:00 p.m. CT Dec. 17, 2017 | Updated 12:19 p.m. CT Dec. 17, 2017



Des Moines school Superintendent Thomas Ahart and his wife Jami Bassman Ahart
took in student Jennifer Galdames after her parents were deported to Guatemala.
Zachary Boyden-Holmes / The Register

Jennifer Galdames’ stepfather was in jail in Marshalltown, about to be deported; her biological father had been killed years earlier in the Guatemalan violence that has sent so many fleeing north.

Her mother was packing to voluntarily return to that country with Jennifer’s 8-year-old sister, Samantha, after being picked up by immigration agents Oct. 5 in West Des Moines.

But Jennifer, who arrived in the U.S. only three years ago, had applied for legal residency. She's just a year and a half from graduating from high school. Leaving now would mean throwing away much of what the family had worked toward.

Newlyweds Tom Ahart and Jami Bassman Ahart were settling into their new Des Moines home with 6-year-old Eli, the son Bassman adopted as an infant. Tom is superintendent of Des Moines schools. Jami is a real estate agent and an actress.

More:
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/rekha-basu/2017/12/17/des-moines-superintendent-teen-immigration-deport-guatemala/922938001/

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https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016198506