Community helps couple avoid deportation after death of daughter

Published: 2005-03-16

NEWARK, N.J. (CNS) -- Thanks to the efforts of a congressman, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Newark and the entire community of Bound Brook, a married couple from Guatemala and Brazil no longer has to fear being deported. After losing a daughter to brain cancer, Baudilio Rojas and Maria Ramos were fighting to stay in the United States to remain with Ramos' 15-year-old U.S.-born daughter, Marina Oribes, her child from a previous relationship. "It was a rare moment in time when everyone worked together," said Geoffrey Scowcroft, managing attorney of Catholic Charities' Immigration Assistance Program. When daughter Cesilia Ramos-Rojas fell ill with cancer, the town of Bound Brook and particularly Lafayette Elementary School, where the little girl was enrolled, rallied around the family to help support them emotionally and financially.

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