500 signatures reached
To: Ricardo Wong, ICE Director Chicago Field Office and Sylvia Bonaccorsi-Manno Assistant Director
STOP Deportation and Keep Mario Osorio here with his family
We are writing in support Mario Osorio Palma, A-071847443, to stay his deportation and remain with his family. Mario Osorio Palma is a 54 year old from Guatemala who fled the guerrilleros in 1989. On one fateful night the guerilla arrived at the home he shared with his family and gave Mario and his brother two impossible options: they either join them or die. Three days later the fighters came back and shot up the home. Mario and his brother were the lucky ones. They survived and moved to different cities to flee from the guerrilleros constant danger —many of their cousins and childhood friends had been disappeared, tortured or killed during this turbulent time in Guatemala.
Mario arrived in the United States in 1989 after a year of running, where he has lived a simple, law-abiding life, working hard, supporting his parents and connecting with friends and family through church and community. Mario served as a deacon and theology professor for over ten years at La Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal in Chicago.
Mario arrived in the United States in 1989 after a year of running, where he has lived a simple, law-abiding life, working hard, supporting his parents and connecting with friends and family through church and community. Mario served as a deacon and theology professor for over ten years at La Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal in Chicago.
Why is this important?
Mario’s brother arrived in the US one year earlier, in 1988. What a difference a year made. While Mario didn’t have the money for an attorney and tried to get help from a notario, his brother received help from an immigration attorney and was able to successfully apply for asylum. Now Mario’s brother is a United States Citizen who was able to petition for his parents to come to the US legally.
Mario, unfortunately, received inadequate legal representation. Yet he has been living his life, supporting his parents and paying his taxes for three decades. He’s also lived in fear that because of his immigration status he could be sent back to dangerous conditions in a country that he hasn’t set foot in since he fled almost 30 years ago. That fear was realized on Monday when ICE agents came to his door to follow up on an 18 year old court decision. ICE agents detained Mario and seven other workers at a workplace raid at a factory in Belmont-Cragin. Mario’s parents and brother are fearful that his deportation could have a ripple effect on the whole family. His mom, who already is in delicate health condition after having open heart surgery is having panic attacks at the thought of Mario being sent back to Guatemala.
Mario did what he had to do to survive. Unfortunately he might have to pay for bad legal representation with his life. As a diabetic, Mario is also being denied access to the insulin pills he needs to take daily while in detention. CALL CHICAGO ICE DIRECTOR AT (312)347-2221 – AND ASK HIM TO GRANT MARIO A STAY OF REMOVAL. SIGN OUR PETITION HERE ASKING ICE TO FREE MARIO!
Mario, unfortunately, received inadequate legal representation. Yet he has been living his life, supporting his parents and paying his taxes for three decades. He’s also lived in fear that because of his immigration status he could be sent back to dangerous conditions in a country that he hasn’t set foot in since he fled almost 30 years ago. That fear was realized on Monday when ICE agents came to his door to follow up on an 18 year old court decision. ICE agents detained Mario and seven other workers at a workplace raid at a factory in Belmont-Cragin. Mario’s parents and brother are fearful that his deportation could have a ripple effect on the whole family. His mom, who already is in delicate health condition after having open heart surgery is having panic attacks at the thought of Mario being sent back to Guatemala.
Mario did what he had to do to survive. Unfortunately he might have to pay for bad legal representation with his life. As a diabetic, Mario is also being denied access to the insulin pills he needs to take daily while in detention. CALL CHICAGO ICE DIRECTOR AT (312)347-2221 – AND ASK HIM TO GRANT MARIO A STAY OF REMOVAL. SIGN OUR PETITION HERE ASKING ICE TO FREE MARIO!