Bishop Wester talks with immigrant who is a scholarship student and military wife

 SALT LAKE CITY —For Angelica Rojas, free time in high school meant being involved in clubs that helped other people. Her community service helped her earn a scholarship from the Air Force; she now is starting her second year of college, pursuing a degree in psychology. She is recently married to a man who is enlisted in the U.S. Army, and she works for a justice court.

She also is a permanent legal resident, whose bright future and solid present life are a far cry from the frightening scenario she faced at 14, when her mother was hospitalized after a domestic violence incident. Angelica, her sister and her mother, who were in the country without legal documentation, went for help to the YWCA and also were aided by the Family Justice Center and Holy Cross Ministries.

Because her mother cooperated with the police investigation into the domestic violence incident, she qualified for a U-Visa, which gives victims of certain crimes temporary legal status that can lead to legal permanent residency.

"One of the greatest things about this country is … once you step in the country you have the right to report a crime to get help," said Rojas, who qualified with her mother for legal status because she was under 18. "After everything that happened I felt how everybody was so willing to help…. The only thing that I could do was give back, so throughout high school I was involved with a lot of clubs that helped."

Rojas’ story highlights the fact that "the immigration question is so much more than just a political question. It’s a moral question, it’s a human question," said the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City. "We’re talking about real people, and these are all children of God."

See more on Bishop Wester’s Tuesday Tapestry video, online at www.icatholic.org, as he discusses immigration with Rojas and Holy Cross Sister Veronica A. Fajardo, who works at Holy Cross Ministries in Salt Lake City.