Connecticut doctor born in Pennsylvania told to leave the U.S. by Homeland Security
A Connecticut physician is seeking an immigration attorney after the Department of Homeland Security ordered her out of the country via email.
'It is time for you to leave the United States,' read the threatening message that Dr. Lisa Anderson received last week, she told NBC affiliate WVIT on Wednesday.
Anderson, 58, was born in Pennsylvania and lives in Cromwell.
Unlike two Massachusetts immigration attorneys and U.S. citizens who have received similar emails, Anderson has nothing to do with immigration. Except for now, as she's looking to hire just such a lawyer, confused as to what landed her on Homeland Security's radar.
'I really have no idea how my email ended up on that list unless someone else was using that as a false email,' Anderson told WVIT. 'I don't have anything to do with immigration and I never thought that I would have needed the services of an immigration attorney either, and that's where I find myself.'
The two immigration attorneys who got the same email also thought it odd that DHS had their addresses, since clients must supply their own when communicating with the federal agency. But their emails were at least on paperwork related to their cases.
Last week, Boston-area immigration attorney Nicole Micheroni was told to leave the U.S. or 'the federal government will find you.' Days later, a second immigration attorney in the Boston area, Carmen Bello, was also told by DHS to self-deport, WBTS reported Tuesday.
Both were told their immigration parole was expiring, but that doesn't apply to either of them. The parole is part of a program that allows migrants to stay and work in the U.S. for up to two years while they wait for their case to be heard — a program the Trump administration has effectively terminated.
While Homeland Security said in a statement that it emailed Micheroni in error, the attorney told WVIT that she has not been able to reach DHS officials to clarify the situation. She emphasized that such an email does not constitute a deportation order but advised recipients to seek legal counsel.
Anderson, whose attorneys have advised her to carry her passport at all times, says she's rattled.
'The language seemed pretty threatening to whomever it might actually apply to,' she told WVIT. 'It does make me concerned there're a lot more people out there like me who probably also thought this was spam, who probably didn't realize, 'I have a problem.' '
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