SALT LAKE CITY — A DACA recipient who was living in Utah is now 1,600 miles away from her husband because of a mistake she said was out of their control.
Since the age of two, Maleny Heiner has called the United States her home. She grew up in California, attended BYU, met her husband while serving on a mission with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and chased her dreams of becoming a social worker.
“I was doing everything I could to be successful,” she said. “What hurts so much about this situation is that it wasn’t anything I could control.”
This summer, the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient had one last step to becoming a U.S. citizen. During their trip to the consulate in Mexico, the couple said they discovered an administrative error that meant Melany could not go back to Utah.
“That entire day and night we just cried because we’re like, ‘We don’t know what the future looks like anymore,’” she said.
It’s been almost five months and she’s been stuck in Zacatecas, Mexico. It could take two-and-a-half years before her application is considered again. They’ve sent a few requests for her application to be expedited, but both were declined.
“It’s just been full of anxiety, frustration,” said her husband, Taylor. “Just a lot of bad news. All the time.”
Melany lost her job and had to drop out of her master’s degree program.
“I remember having that conversation with her and just letting her know that I would do anything in my power to get her back,” said Saane Siale.
Siale grew up with Melany in California and is one of the organizers behind the group, UT With All Immigrants.
Siale said people don’t understand how difficult the process is.
“It’s so outdated, it’s so convoluted, it’s confusing. Even the document that Melany would have needed to have to prevent her from being stuck in Mexico, that document alone costs $900,” she said.
UT With All Immigrants flooded Governor Spencer Cox with Melany’s story in hopes he would address it in his virtual town hall Tuesday night.
“Immigration is one issue that governors can’t control. We know the Constitution specifically says that this is purview of Congress and yet it does affect the states and so governors need to lean in to help to solve this problem,” he said.
Cox said he’s in a group with other governors who in the next few weeks will send recommendations to Congress on how to fix the legal immigration system.
He never addressed Melany’s case specifically, which she said made her feel “overseen completely.”
She hopes someone will eventually listen.
“If even possible, I would love to be home for Christmas if that’s something that’s possible. If not, as soon as I can,” she said.
