Woman gains US residency after 50 years undocumented
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In California, María de la Luz Ramírez, age 73, recently received her green card after living in the United States without legal status for 50 years.
Ramírez arrived in the US from Jalisco, Mexico, in 1976 and worked in agriculture while raising her family. She previously chose not to apply for an amnesty program in the 1980s when it was available, as she did not feel it was necessary at the time.
In 2022, Ramírez’s family began a process through the US military to help her gain legal status. They used a program called Military Parole in Place, which US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offers to certain family members of service members and veterans. This program allowed her to pursue a green card without leaving the country. Ramírez decided to apply for the green card due to increased deportation policies enacted during the administration of Donald Trump.
Her children supported the process, wanting to remove the risk of their mother being detained by immigration authorities. The Military Parole in Place program stopped the count of her time living in the US without documentation and allowed her to apply for a work permit while her case was processed.
