A conservative Christian woman in Idaho faces a crisis of faith and political conviction after her Bhutanese refugee husband, despite building a successful life and family, is deported under aggressive immigration policies, leaving her to raise their infant son alone.
Stephanie Shah, a devout conservative Christian from Twin Falls, Idaho, and her Bhutanese refugee husband, Binod Shah, built a life that embodied the American dream: a thriving auto repair business, a strong church community, and an infant son. Binod, who was ethnically cleansed from Bhutan as a child and resettled in the US, was on a path to citizenship when past criminal convictions—a felony aggravated assault plea in 2017 and a felony DUI in 2022—triggered deportation proceedings. Despite widespread community support, his deep integration, and arguments from advocates about 'double punishment' for immigrants, Binod was deported to Bhutan in June 2024, a move facilitated by the Trump administration's intensified anti-immigration policies. This event has profoundly challenged Stephanie's conservative values, particularly her belief in 'family values' and 'following the rules,' and has caused a reckoning within their deeply Christian, Republican-voting community. Many, including former Trump supporters, are now questioning the harshness of a system that deported a man they considered a 'good immigrant,' leaving him stateless and in hiding in South Asia, and Stephanie a single mother grappling with a shattered family and disillusionment with the political system she once championed.
