WASHINGTON ¨C Natalia fled Russia fearing imminent arrest for her family¡¯s opposition activism and sought political asylum in the United States. But instead of refuge, she found herself locked in jail for more than a year, separated from her husband and children and dreading deportation.
With the Trump administration stepping up removals as part of its sweeping anti-immigration crackdown, rights activists warn that deporting Russian dissidents puts them at risk of prison and persecution back home.
"I supported the opposition, I supported opposition activists who were against (Russian President Vladimir) Putin¡¯s regime," Natalia said in a phone interview from an immigration detention center in the southern state of Louisiana. "If I return to Russia, I will be arrested."
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