‘ IS THIS A DREAM?’
Berwyn grandma ordered to leave country will stay put while visa application is processed
A Berwyn grandmother who had been ordered to leave the country is now being allowed to stay while her visa application is being processed.
Genoveva Ramirez, 67, received a letter last week from U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that said she had been granted “deferred action” on her deportation order.
“Is this a dream? Is this really happening?” Ramirez asked her daughter, Fernanda Castellanos, upon reading the letter.
Ramirez immediately hugged her grandson, Mariano Castellanos, who didn’t quite understand what was going on.
“Does this mean grandma gets to stay here?” Mariano asked his mother, who responded, “Yes.”
Ramirez officially announced the news at a press conference on Thurs- day in front of roughly two dozen supporters.
“We’re going to continue fighting, particular for [ others fighting deportation] so they can be celebrating like we are today,” Ramirez said through a translator.
State Rep. Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez, D- Cicero, said it was a sigh of “relief to see a family staying together.”
Deferred action means Ramirez is no longer in imminent danger of deportation as her visa application proceeds, according to her attorney Mony Ruiz- Velasco.
A federal lawsuit Ruiz- Velasco filed on Ramirez’s behalf forced immigration authorities to consider an application Ramirez had filed for a “U visa,” which can be granted to immigrants who are victims of crimes and cooperate with law enforcement in ensuing investigations or prosecu- tions. Ramirez had been attacked a while back during a burglary.
Ramirez hasn’t heard directly from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials yet despite her attorney emailing them, but RuizVelasco is optimistic they will honor the letter.
“We’re hopeful that ICE will honor the deferred action, which is what they have done in the past,” RuizVelasco said. “But at these moments given the circumstances and how we’ve seen ICE react, we can’t take anything for granted.”
Thursday marked the latest chapter in Ramirez’s long battle with ICE officials to stay in the United States.
Ramirez originally came to the United States from Mexico in 2001 on a visa that has long since expired and had been checking in regularly with immigration officials.
She was told two years ago her case was a low priority and that she didn’t need to keep coming back. That’s why Ramirez was surprised to be summoned to a meeting in May and told to come back at the end of August.
At the end of August meeting, ICE officials told the mother of four and grandmother of 10 that she had to return in September with a one- way ticket out of the country by the end of October despite her pending visa application.
Before the next meeting, Ramirez sued the Department of Homeland Security in September asking for her deportation to be delayed while her visa application was being reviewed.
Ruiz- Velasco said they plan to drop the lawsuit if ICE honors the deferred action from U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Ramirez, who is currently on a waiting list for her visa number, first applied for her visa in September 2016 after she and Mariano were assaulted in her Berwyn home.
Her cooperation with Berwyn police made her eligible for the U visa, which is available to victims and witnesses of certain crimes who help investigators.