Elizabeth, an Ohio mom of two young children, bravely served her country for ten years in the U.S. Military and was honorably discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps.
But in 2010, her country thanked her by deporting her husband, Marcos.
A heart-wrenching new video about Elizabeth’s story highlights the impact of deportations, which have not only devastated the immigrant community, but have torn apart spouses and children, many of whom are U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
Elizabeth has been a fierce advocate in Ohio’s booming immigrant community for years, most recently last year when she marched alongside Ricardo, a long-time Ohio resident who was facing imminent deportation.
The march was successful, and Ricardo was able to stay in his Ohio home with his family. But, Elizabeth and her two children have still been forced to try to build their lives without Marcos, and somehow remain a united Marine family.
As a U.S. citizen herself, Elizabeth thought her husband would be safe from deportation. But, a gargantuan deportation machine, combined with Congress’s failure to fix our broken immigration system, resulted in Marcos’s 2010 deportation to Mexico.
Late last year, the Obama Administration announced that it was changing its deportation priorities so that the spouses, children, and parents from other military families might be protected from deportation.
But, that move came too late for Elizabeth’s family.
This upcoming Monday, Elizabeth will again march, but this time to highlight her own family’s story (more information on this 20 mile, May 4th march is available here).
Elizabeth will be joined by scores of other Ohio leaders and community members, many of whom she supported in the past, and now want to see her family reunited, too.
“My home is what we had before he was deported,” Elizabeth says in her video. “I’m not going to live in a home again until he’s back. It’s just going to be living in a house as I’m waiting.”
Watch Elizabeth’s heartbreaking story below, and take action by signing her petition to reunite her family here.
