Opinion ID: 723311
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: 3 The petitioners are a 30 year old female (Petitioner) and her 12 year old minor son. 4 In 1979, during the time of the Sandinista revolution, Petitioner was living with her parents in Managua. Prior to the revolution, Petitioner's father had been a bodyguard for a cousin of Anastasio Somoza, the former president of Nicaragua. Petitioner's entire family were strong supporters of the Somoza regime, and her father was a member of Somoza's political party, the Liberal Independent Party. After the revolution, Petitioner's father was imprisoned for one year because of his close involvement with the Somoza regime. Petitioner's father was again imprisoned on several occasions in 1983. Petitioner's father died of a stroke in 1985. Petitioner's uncle was a member of the Contras, the U.S. backed opposition group. 5 Petitioner's family home was stoned by Turbas, groups organized by the Sandinista sponsored CDS (Committee for the Defense of the Sandinistas), for the family's political activities. 6 In 1982 Petitioner moved in with Alvaro Calderon, a lieutenant in the Sandinista military. Shortly thereafter they had a son together. This relationship developed in spite of the fact that the two were on opposite political sides. Eventually, however, these differences surfaced in the context of how they were going to raise their son. Petitioner wanted the boy to be raised in the Catholic Church while Calderon, a strict Marxist, did not want his son to be involved with religion. Petitioner tried to resolve these difference with the help of the local CDS but it sided with the child's father. (They were never officially married, but apparently had a common-law marriage.) 7 After unsuccessfully trying to resolve her problems, Petitioner moved back to her parents' home with her son. (They lived only two blocks away.) Calderon tracked Petitioner down and, with the help of several soldiers, forced her to return home with him. Calderon told Petitioner that if she ever took his son away from him he would accuse her of being a Contra and make sure that she would never see the light of day again. 8 Finally, in 1985, fearing for her own safety and the safety of her child, Petitioner fled Nicaragua, under the pretense of going to Mexico for vacation, and came to the U.S. 9 Petitioner presently has 4 sisters and 1 brother who are legal permanent residents and another brother who has filed an I-589 request for asylum. Since coming to the U.S., petitioner has given birth to another son who is a U.S. citizen. Petitioner's mother, whose immigration status is not in the record, resides with Petitioner and Petitioner's two sons.