Hernandez: Berwyn Grandmother No Longer Faces Deportation

CICERO, Ill. – Last Friday, state Rep. Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez, D-Cicero, joined community members, advocates, and family to announce that Genoveva Ramirez, 67, who had been ordered to leave the country is now being allowed to stay while her visa application is being processed.

“While times may be difficult, we must remain hopeful in what can be accomplished when we come together to ensure that all people be treated equally, fairly and above all, humanely,” Hernandez said. “This couldn’t have been done without the support of advocates and community members coming together to demand that a loving grandmother be allowed to stay with her grandchildren.”

Genoveva Ramirez, grandmother of 10, completed a U-visa application in September 2016 after she and her grandson were physically assaulted during a home invasion. However, over the summer, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials told Ramirez that she had to leave the country by the end of October despite her pending visa application and cooperation with law enforcement.

But after months of litigation and community organizing, Ramirez was joined last Friday by Hernandez, community members, and advocates to announce that she had been granted Deferred Action, and her U-visa application had been placed on the waiting list.

“We have made a lot of progress in Illinois to provide protections for the immigrant community, but there’s still much more work to be done,” Hernandez said. “We can’t give up. We won’t give up.”