"We arrived at 26 Federal Plaza on Nov. 24, 2025, for Allan's long-anticipated green card interview. We were accompanied by our pastor from Middle Church and carried a meticulously organized three-inch-thick binder containing every immigration document my husband had amassed since arriving in the United States from the Cayman Islands in 2013. There were hundreds of photos documenting our life together, along with letters from family, friends, and our community affirming the legitimacy of our marriage."
"It was nearly a year into Donald Trump 's presidency, and the political climate surrounding immigration was terrifying. Stories of ICE detaining immigrants flooded the news and our social media feeds. We were nervous, but confident. We had done everything right. This time, our colors were muted. I wore chocolate brown; my husband wore charcoal. At the check-in window, a woman smiled and told us we looked handsome. She gave us her blessing. We sat down to wait."
"The room was cold. Workers behind the counter wore scarves. Families were called one by one through a door leading to the back. When our number was called, my husband, our pastor, and I approached - only to be stopped. The officer asked for our documents. We proudly presented our binder. She scoffed and refused to accept it. We were instructed to dismantle weeks of careful organization and hand over loose papers instead. Something immediately felt wrong."
A couple arrived at 26 Federal Plaza for a scheduled green card interview carrying an extensively organized binder of immigration documents and accompanied by their pastor. The political climate around immigration under President Trump intensified their anxiety, though they felt prepared. At check-in a staffer offered a pleasant blessing, but an officer later refused to accept the binder and ordered the documents dismantled and handed over loose. The officer also barred the pastor from entering despite other families having companions, and a supervisor deferred to the officer's discretion, heightening feelings of unfairness and unease.
Read at BuzzFeed
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