Salvadoran who sells marijuana fights for US citizenship

NEW YORK (AP) — A Salvadoran woman has appealed a federal court decision that gave the U.S. government the reason to deny her citizenship because the immigrant operates a marijuana store.

Maria Elena Reimers, 45, took her case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that the store she owns along with her husband is legal in Washington State. Reimers says that other owners of marijuana shops who are Americans have no problem but she, on the other hand, “feels punished” despite doing the same job.

Reimers has permanent residence.

“We thought that this (of citizenship) would be something simple and it has become a real headache,” said the Salvadoran woman.

The court in the eastern district of Washington assured in early February that under federal law it is illegal to sell marijuana and that therefore the U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Services did the right thing by denying Reimers naturalization.

In denying it, the government described Reimers as an “illicit trafficker in a controlled substance” and declared that the Salvadoran woman lacks “good moral character” to obtain citizenship.

After laws legalizing the sale of marijuana were first passed in Colorado in 2012, 17 other states in the country, including Washington, adopted the same legislation. However, federal law considers such a sale illegal.

Cases similar to Reimers have been heard in court before: last year an immigrant with asylum named Aleksei Voronin appealed the courts' decision to support the government after it denied him permanent residence in the United States for having worked in a marijuana distribution center in California.

Reimers met her American husband in El Salvador and came to the United States in 2004 on a visa for fiancée of a US citizen. They married that year and about three years later Reimers obtained his permanent residence. Both ran a second-hand goods store.

In 2014 they opened the marijuana store, called Cannarail Station. Reimers said they were both excited and saw the opportunity as a possible bridge to a better life.

Richard Reimers, María Elena's husband, said they later realized the consequences of having an illegal business in the eyes of federal law, which meant, for example, impediments to borrow from a bank.

Even so, they say they didn't think they would have any problems when Reimers applied for US citizenship in 2017 because, they said, their business is legal in Washington.

“We didn't think it would be a problem because, among other things, I had to submit fingerprints to get the license for the store, so they have my information,” Reimers said. “My husband and I have never broken the law.”

Alycia Moss, a lawyer for the Reimers, said no criminal charges have been filed against Maria Elena. Still, Reimers said Moss has advised him not to leave the United States just in case he is not allowed to return.

“I left everything behind to follow my husband to this country, to start a family, to have a stable life, to feel safe, something I didn't have where I grew up,” Reimers said. “I have family in my country but I can't visit them. I'm stuck. I can't go anywhere.”

If the appeals court rules against him, Reimers said he could take his case to the Supreme Court.

“I am very frustrated. I have anxiety problems because I don't know what my future will be,” said the Salvadoran. “I live in uncertainty. They could send me back to my country. I have family here. I have my kids here. Both are citizens.”