A high school student in Staunton, originally from Central America, has been ordered to leave the U.S. before his 18th birthday – leaving behind his mother, stepfather, and younger siblings. A community group has rallied to support him. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
[sounds of people talking]
On a recent Sunday, about 30 people gathered in the fellowship hall at Trinity Episcopal Church in Staunton. A potluck buffet of deviled eggs, tacos, and cakes was organized as a fundraiser for La Familia Fund – an immigrants' aid organization housed at the church.
DONALD ROMANIK: A group of neighbors from the greater Augusta, Waynesboro, Staunton family want to raise some funds to support a young man who is being self-deported. He needs to go back to his country of birth, against his will.
Donald Romanik is a member of the church and the steering committee of the fund.
ROMANIK: I mean, this is the basic Christian message. You know? Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger. People don't realize that Mary, Joseph, and the Christ child were refugees when they went into Egypt.
Priest and Associate Rector Rev. Cara Ellen Modisett said one part of the vows taken by clergy is –
REV. CARA ELLEN MODISETT: The idea that we respect the dignity of every human being, that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, and as Donald was saying, refugees are our neighbors. … We stand with those who are afraid. Jesus stood with those who were vulnerable, and that is part of what we believe. That is part of our theology.
The group has raised around $22,000 over the past year to help several immigrant families in the area with legal fees, rent, utilities, and phone cards to contact loved ones in detention. At the potluck, they achieved the goal of raising enough for one 17-year-old kid's plane ticket. We spoke with his mother, Patricia – we're withholding their last name and other family members' names, and their exact country of origin, due to the family's fears of violence against those forced to return to Central America.
PATRICIA: Somos una familia muy unida.
Louella Hill translated for us.
PATRICIA (as translated by Louella Hill): We are a really close family. We live here in Staunton, and right now we're facing some grave difficulties. … We're hoping that at the end of these difficulties, that our family can be together again.
Patricia's is a mixed-status family. She's been here for 12 years, is married to a U.S. citizen, and her youngest child is a U.S. citizen. Patricia herself has an open immigration case. Her older children were able to join her in the U.S. over the last several years, but two have not been allowed to stay under current federal immigration policy.
PATRICIA (as translated by Hill): This process has been very painful, but these are the orders of the judge.
Her oldest son was deported last fall, after spending one day in jail for a misdemeanor charge of driving with a suspended license, following three previous driving-related misdemeanors, according to court records.
PATRICIA (as translated by Hill): He's a young guy and he was driving his aunt's car without his license, and he was driving too fast. … My son reported to the Rockingham jail, and he did his 24 hours, but when he stepped out at the end of the 24 hours, he walked into the hands of immigration. … Every day that my older son was in detention in Louisiana was horrible. The food, the way that he was treated. … The experience my first son was having in the detention center was so bad that we decided it would be better to return to our home country, despite what is happening there, rather than continue this daily horror of the detention center.
The oldest son's experience affected how the family has handled the second son's case, once he, too, came under the scrutiny of the immigration court system.
The second son has no criminal record. He had been released into the country by border patrol agents as an unaccompanied minor to reunite with his mother. But as legal adulthood approaches, he's not allowed to stay. By complying with voluntary departure, he won't spend time in a detention center, and Patricia hopes he will have a legal pathway to return.
PATRICIA (as translated by Hill): He's a good kid. He gets along well with people. He has a lot of friends. The teachers at his school love him. … He was looking forward to his school year, and he had goals for the school year. He was excited for the classes he was going to take. He was looking forward to getting his diploma. He was excited to take carpentry classes and mechanic classes.
Instead of starting his junior year of high school in the coming months, he has to board a plane headed back to a country his family left because of gang activity and drug trafficking.
PATRICIA (as translated by Hill): I try and be strong, but it's really difficult. The day that the judge told my son he had to deport, it was horrible. It was maybe two weeks that I couldn't sleep. … I just have to ask for the help of God to protect my family.
La Familia Fund is collecting donations for this family and others affected by immigration policy. Checks can be written out to Trinity Episcopal Church in Staunton, with a memo designating the donation for La Familia Fund.
