Over 700 prominent clergy have signed a nationwide open letter from Faith in Public Life urging Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly to stop the deportation of Maribel Trujillo Diaz, an Ohio mom facing deportation tomorrow.
Faith community: release Maribel
Trujillo-Diaz has received support from thousands of Ohioans and other Americans in her bid to remain in this country with her children, including her three year-old daughter who has special needs. The faith community has been at the forefront of this campaign, and as Trujillo-Diaz’s fate comes down to the wire, they continue to mobilize against her forced separation from her family.
According to WCPO Cincinnati, Father Mike Pucke, Trujillo’s pastor at St. Julie Billiart Church, said:
Anytime that people of faith and conviction rally around a person, I think it’s a good thing…We are down to the ultimate minutes and anything we can do to help Maribel is good for her, but it’s also good for the thousands of ‘Maribels’ throughout the country.
This evening, a vigil will be held at Carthage Christian Church (19 West 73rd Street) in Cincinnati at 8 pm in support of Trujillo-Diaz and her children. The prayer vigil will include a candlelit walk and bring together clergy and members of the community to pray for Trujillo-Diaz and her family, for the country, and for resolve in the pursuit of justice for all of those affected by the Trump Administration’s deportation force.
Lynn Tramonte: John Kelly must step up
Said Lynn Tramonte, Deputy Director of America’s Voice Education Fund:
Yesterday, Secretary Kelly continued to claim that his administration is targeting criminals for deportation. When it comes to Maribel Trujillo, that’s clearly not the case. It begs the question of who’s really in charge of the Department of Homeland Security–the nominal secretary, or the agents making up Trump’s Deportation Force. A real leader would recognize that there’s a need for discretion in cases like these, and let Maribel return to her family immediately.
