We have recently learned that the immigration court has summarily denied the case of our friend Eliseo Jimenez, who has been three years in sanctuary at Umstead Park UCC. He was the first undocumented immigrant to enter sanctuary in Raleigh.
Unless his case is appealed, he will have to abandon his wife and two young children and return to Mexico. His attorney feels confident that, due to the specifics of Eliseo’s case, even under the present administration, an appeal to the federal Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals holds real promise for a stay of deportation.
The appeal process is expensive, but his lawyer is willing to reduce her firm’s cost to keep open Eliseo’s chances of remaining with his family. She has started a relief fund with a target of 100 people, each donating $35.
CUCC’s Do Justice Ministry has donated, and several Do Justice members did likewise. Can you help too?
If you wish to contribute to the fund, please mail a check (marked Eliseo’s Legal Fund) to Umstead Park United Church of Christ at 8208 Brownleigh Dr, Raleigh, NC 27617.
You can also contribute online. If you choose to contribute online, please email Vickie Teal, the Umstead Park UCC Financial Administrator, at vickie@upucc.org and tell her your contribution is for Eliseo’s Legal Fund.
Gary Smith for CUCC's Do Justice Ministry smithgk@mindspring.com