Catholic Nun Facing Deportation
Sep 03, 2024 02:25PM ● By Jen Gennaro
Fr. Lamar Partin of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church is calling on the Zachary and surrounding community for help. Sister Cielo Montenegro Pesigan of the Daughters of Mary, a Filipino nun who has been in Zachary since 2014 faithfully serving the Zachary and Clinton communities, is facing deportation.
Fr. Lamar explains the "perfect storm of events" beginning in 2020 that led to her unintentional overstay. "In 2019/20 she went out of status due to no fault of her own; the person who oversaw her Visa in the church office was out sick, and the lawyer had retired and shut down her office," reads the bulletin from St. John the Baptist. There were also government shut downs due to Covid.
Originally, when the lawyer applied for a Green Card, her Religious Visa was expired; because of this, her appeal to be granted a Green Card to be able to stay and minister in the United States was denied. Last week, the parish received the news from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that the appeal for Sr. Cielo was denied due to her being out of status when the I-485 was filed.
Fr. Lamar explains the "perfect storm of events" beginning in 2020 that led to her unintentional overstay. "In 2019/20 she went out of status due to no fault of her own; the person who oversaw her Visa in the church office was out sick, and the lawyer had retired and shut down her office," reads the bulletin from St. John the Baptist. There were also government shut downs due to Covid.
Originally, when the lawyer applied for a Green Card, her Religious Visa was expired; because of this, her appeal to be granted a Green Card to be able to stay and minister in the United States was denied. Last week, the parish received the news from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that the appeal for Sr. Cielo was denied due to her being out of status when the I-485 was filed.
"Her ministry to our parish is essential," says Fr. Lamar. Sr. Cielo faithfully keeps the homebound parishioners of the Catholic church in Zachary and Clinton connected to the community, visits those in nursing facilities and in the Veterans home in Jackson, serves the church as a sacristan setting up for masses, funerals, and other services, teaches religious education to the children, as well as countless other acts of faith and service not just to the Catholic parish, but the community as a whole.
Please raise you voices to our State and Federal representatives, to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and to the White House itself to support Sr. Cielo. There is a pdf attached that may be used for correspondence.
Please raise you voices to our State and Federal representatives, to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and to the White House itself to support Sr. Cielo. There is a pdf attached that may be used for correspondence.
Sister’s name is CIELO MONTENEGRO PESIGAN and her case number is MSC2290345414; you will need both if you call.
Representative Cassidy’s office contact information is: https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/contact/get-in-touch
Or 225-929-7711, ask for Lynn Hopper
Senator John Kennedy’s office contact information is: https://www.kennedy.senate.gov/public/email-me
(225) 926 8033
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Texas Service Center
Attn: Mary Elizabeth Brennan Seng
6046 N Belt Line Rd Ste 172
Irving TX 75038
White House
or
(202) 456-1111
Sr. Cielo [2 Images]
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Downloads
Sister_20Cielo.pdf