<
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/12/refugee-deportation-idaho-trump>
"Stephanie Shah kept her eyes on the winding road as rain streaked across the
windshield. Her husband, Binod Shah, sat in silence beside her, staring out the
window. It was late evening in Washington state on 23 March, and they had been
driving all day, trading shifts, barely speaking, while their nine-month-old
son dozed beneath a blanket in the backseat. The sky hung low and gray, and
evergreens, soaked and still, stood witness along the road. Inside the car, a
Nepali-Christian folk song played quietly on repeat. At some point, Binod
reached over and rested his hand on Stephanie’s leg. It wasn’t reassurance. It
felt more like a final touch.
When the baby started to cry, Stephanie pulled over and together they changed
his diaper, working without words. Then Binod leaned down, kissed his son’s
forehead, and began to cry.
As they got back on the road, Stephanie’s mind raced with thoughts she did not
dare say out loud: “What if I just turned around? What if I drove him to Mexico
and we disappeared?”
She tried to picture this alternative life on the run. But she had grown up in
a strict, conservative Christian household. Obeying the law wasn’t just a rule
– it was a commandment of the Lord.
“That’s what I’d always been told: that if you follow the rules, things work
out,” she said.
After hours of driving, and a futile stop at the Canadian border, the road
narrowed. Ahead, floodlights lit up a chainlink fence, and a gray concrete
building came into view – the quiet machinery of a government at work. Google
Maps’ robotic voice broke the silence, confirming they had arrived at the
Northwest ICE processing center in Tacoma, just outside Seattle, Washington.
Stephanie parked the car and kissed Binod goodbye. His deportation to his
country of birth, Bhutan, triggered by a criminal conviction, complicated by
his refugee status and enabled by an aggressive anti-immigration machine, would
shatter their life and shake the political convictions of Christian
conservatives in Twin Falls, Idaho."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
