By:Laura Lane Mervosh
Stricken woman seeks compassion from INS
Mariann LaMonte-Shaban, a resident of Long Beach, is dying of lung cancer. Many people face battles with cancer, but Mariann lives with an even greater fear. Married to a loving, devoted husband, she may have to fight her battle alone. The United States government is planning to force her husband of three years, Louis Shaban, to leave the country on a flight back to his native land of South Africa.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service wants to deport Shaban, 36, by next January because he overstayed his 1994 tourist visa.
"I understand that the INS is doing their job," Shaban said. "But, there are human stories behind every application for the INS."
Shaban arrived in the United States in 1993, fleeing the turbulent lifestyle of South Africa. He moved to Scottsdale, Arizona where he eventually met LaMonte-Shaban, a Rockville Centre native. The couple was first introduced, when Mariann visited the Lox, Stock and Bagel store in Scottsdale, owned by a friend from Oceanside. Shaban was an employee there, and the couple seemed to hit it off and soon began dating.
In October of 1994, INS officials entered the store placing Shaban under arrest. Although he had been planning to gain permanent legal status, he had overstayed his visa by two weeks and was thus placed overnight in an INS jail. He was released after agreeing to periodically report to INS offices, which he did. In March 1995, Shaban appeared before a federal immigration judge and agreed to a "voluntary departure," within the next year. During this period, the couple continued to date, soon realized they were in love and decided to marry.
Shaban filed paperwork before his March 22, 1996 voluntary departure date, at the advice of an attorney, believing that he would be able to stay in the United States as a legal resident since he was marrying a U.S. citizen. Regrettably, the attorney's information was incorrect. The papers had needed to be filed months earlier to enable the INS to have the sufficient time needed to process them. In addition, a motion should have been made by the attorney to request that the immigration judge reopen the case.
Living in Boston temporarily to be with LaMonte-Shaban's daughter, the couple reported to the Boston INS office in mid-March. Their experience was disheartening. The official refused to process Shaban's application, tossing it in his face. The Shaban file was still in the Phoenix office.
Undaunted, Shaban filed for an extension of the deportation date and requested a reopening of his case but he was denied due to the fact that the INS had not yet processed his papers. On April 8, 1996, Louis Shaban was expected to report to the INS office in Boston to leave the United States. An appeal was filed, but 17 months later, it was denied.
Shaban decided to file another motion, that might have allowed him to leave temporarily, but later return with legal residency as the spouse of a U. S. Citizen. However, he changed his mind when he found out that his mother, who lived in the U.S., had colon cancer.
Shortly after his mother passed away in February of 2000, his wife was diagnosed with lung cancer. They have continued to receive letters from the INS increasing their nightmares.
Shaban has acquired much publicity in the last year, but certain realities remain. Although he has been granted a one-year stay, he knows that if he leaves the U.S., whether now or after the deadline, federal law will bar him from re-entering for ten years, unless the INS grants him a waiver. At this time, they refuse to do that.
As their attorney Leon Wildes--who saved John Lennon from deportation in 1972--continues to attempt to refile a motion to reopen the case, as politicians try to help and as the INS continues to investigate Shaban, Mariann LaMonte-Shaban's condition continues to deteriorate.
"She needs to fight the disease," Shaban explained. "The cancer is the issue. She shouldn't have to deal with the INS."
Since a publicity blitz on both television and in the newspapers, many old friends have called offering support, and the Long Beach community has been helpful, but Shaban's future residency remains in question.
"When people found out, everyone wanted to help," said Jorge Winter, a family friend and pharmacist in Oceanside. "I even wrote a letter to the President. With all of the media attention I thought that someone would do something, but nothing has changed."
Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has sent letters of support for Shaban to the INS, and although petitions continue to go over the Internet, the process is slow.
"The local businesses have been calling Senator Schumer and we've recently heard from his aid," Shaban said. "In fact, my attorney and the Senator's office are trying to work together."
Another politician who has helped a great deal, Shaban said, is Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg of Long Beach.
"Assemblyman Weisenberg has been writing letters on my behalf to the INS without my even asking," Shaban said. "He has been a great help and has even gone above and beyond writing the letters to help us. He has been tremendous."
But meanwhile, Mariann LaMonte-Shaban, in stage four of lung cancer, has been getting weaker every day. She was unavailable to be interviewed for this article due to her condition. When contacted, she had just returned from a hospital stay.
Winter has known LaMonte-Shaban and her family for 21 years, but until recently was unaware of how dire her condition was.
"I always loved Mariann," he said. "If you knew her, you'd see that she has a wonderful personality, so full of life. You'd think that all of the sadness and pain in her life would make her bitter but it hasn't."
As the couple tries to deal with the tests, medications, and specialists, they remain optimistic, but also confused.
"My wife was born in Oceanside, raised in Rockville Centre," Shaban said. "Her father was a World War II veteran, and she's done everything correct in her life. All she's asking is for her country to help her. She can't understand why she is being treated this way."
Shaban said he has continued to work through the ordeal, running a Manhattan uniform supply business for hotels and restaurants, and--as a homeowner--pays property as well as income taxes.
"People who deal with immigration are very scared. Everyone walks in fear of the INS," he said. "My wife believes that it is up to God to cure the disease. However, she also believes that it is up to someone in the INS to change this situation. What was her Dad fighting for?"
The Shabans ask that support for their plight be expressed by calling Senator Schumer at (212) 486-4430.
