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Cancer Answers is hosted by Dr. Anees Chagpar, Associate Professor of Surgical Oncology and Director of The Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and Dr. Francine Foss, Professor of Medical Oncology. The show features a guest cancer specialist who will share the most recent advances in cancer therapy and respond to listeners questions. Myths, facts and advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment are discussed, with a different focus eachweek. Nationally acclaimed specialists in various types of cancer research, diagnosis, and treatment discuss common misconceptions about the disease and respond to questions from the community.Listeners can submit questions to be answered on the program at canceranswers@yale.edu or by leaving a message at (888) 234-4YCC. As a resource, archived programs from 2006 through the present are available in both audio and written versions on the Yale Cancer Center website.

Federal Judge to Decide Whether to Allow Deported Residents Back Into Connecticut

Lucy Nalpathanchil
/
WNPR
Sal Milardo stands in front of his house in Middletown, Connecticut. His 66-year-old mother was deported from the country after serving ten months in prison for first degree larceny.
Yale Law students representing Paula Milardo say immigration policy is applied too broadly.

On Monday, March 28, a federal judge may rule on whether immigration officials must allow two former Connecticut residents back into the country to talk about why they were deported. 

One of those former residents is Sal Milardo's mother. For his 40th birthday last year, Sal decided that instead of spending money on a big party, he’d surprise his mother with a visit. They hadn’t seen each other in person for more than three years. 

"She was just saying, 'What a surprise, I can’t believe you’re here.' She was just squeezing me so hard," Milardo said, recounting the visit. 

Paula Milardo now lives in Melilli, Italy, nearly 4,500 miles away from her son Sal, his two sisters, and her three sets of grandchildren. Until 2011, she had lived in the U.S as a legal permanent resident for more than fifty years  after coming to the country with her parents. They settled in Middletown and that's where Paula met and fell in love with another Italian immigrant, Anthony Milardo. He became a U.S. citizen after serving in the Vietnam War.

They married in 1970 and then bought a home on Jefferson Avenue. That’s where Sal grew up. 

"You know, me being the Italian mama’s boy, you know she did everything for me," Sal said. "There wasn’t a day that either me or my sisters weren’t at the house, even after we left, either eating dinner or just going to see them on any given day.”

Things started to change in 2006. His father was diagnosed with colon cancer and retired. Then, Sal and his sisters noticed their parents making frequent trips to the casino. 

Credit Sal Milardo
Paula Milardo in a family photo.
“My father’s here. I’m here. My sisters are here. Her grandchildren are here. Her life is here, not there."
Sal Milardo

“And it was around that time that she apparently got into this gambling addiction, she lied to a friend of her’s, said she was a debt collector, and wound up committing a theft," Sal said. 

Sal's mother was charged with first degree larceny in 2009. She eventually pled guilty and was ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution along with a jail sentence. 

Obviously, it was difficult for Sal and his sisters to see their mother go to prison. But they were looking forward to her getting out and starting over. Sal said it didn’t turn out that way. He said she did her time, serving 10 months in prison, but now that she's been deported, it feels like she got a life sentence. 

Students at Yale Law School’s Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization are representing Paula Milardo. They're trying to draw attention to a federal policy they say breaks families apart.

“She’s a 66-year-old grandmother, but is subject to mandatory deportation because of the technical fact that her crime was an aggravated felony," said Avinash Samarth, a clinical law student.

That means the federal government can deport anyone who is not a citizen if they are convicted of an aggravated felony. Those crimes can range from a misdemeanor to murder. 

Samarth said Milardo’s case deserves to be highlighted. He said her story shows the federal government’s immigration policies are applied too broadly. 

“So for instance, they will frequently talk about how they are deporting felons, not families. But these stories really complicate that," Samarth said. 

The Yale Law School students have requested that Milardo be allowed back in the country temporarily so that she and another former Connecticut resident, ArnoldGiammarco, can testify before the General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee. They said they want lawmakers to be aware how state crimes are classified can trigger deportation.

Earlier this month, immigration officials denied the students’ request to allow the former residents back into the country, stating there was "no compelling reason" to do so. 

Sal Milardo’s family feels differently.

“My father’s here. I’m here. My sisters are here. Her grandchildren are here. Her life is here, not there," Sal said. 

 

Lucy leads Connecticut Public's strategies to deeply connect and build collaborations with community-focused organizations across the state.

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