It seems like every day we’re hearing devastating stories of undocumented workers who came to the United States seeking refuge but are instead facing deportation. Fortunately, green card attorney, Anibal Romero, is doing everything he can to help protect their rights.
In this recent and disheartening case, Rosa Gutierrez Lopez, single mother of three U.S.-born children, was told she had to leave the country despite her immigration attorneyAnibal Romero petitioning the court for a stay of her deportation order.
Lopez came to the United States in 2005, and couldn’t bear to leave her three children, especially her youngest who has Down syndrome. She also couldn’t fathom taking her children back to her home country of El Salvador, which lacks the special-needs resources her son requires. So, although she had already purchased her plane ticket, she sought sanctuary at Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethesda.
Her visa attorneyfiled a motion to stay her deportation months ago and is working hard to reopen her case, specifically because Lopez had a family member killed in El Salvador and fears she will be a target is she returns. According to Romero:
“We believe we have a good case, but we are in limbo,” Romero said. “She can’t fight her case in El Salvador, and we don’t control what happens in the courts here.”
As her deportation lawyercontinues to fight for his client, Lopez spends her days cleaning and cooking at the church. To read her full story, click here.