U.S. Immigration Deports Two Indonesian Christian Refugees
Two Indonesian men who came to the United States to escape religious persecution more than 20 years ago have been deported after being detained by New Jersey immigration officials. Another Indonesian was deported two weeks ago while a fourth could soon follow.
Those who were removed this week are identified to be Rovani Wangko and Saul Timisela, while the man who was sent back to Indonesia ahead of them is Arino Massie. Another refugee, Oldy Manopo, had a request to stop his removal. However, this request was rejected on Friday. The four were among nine Indonesian Christians who took sanctuary at the Reformed Church of Highland Park in 2012 after they were targeted for deportation.
The men are part of a community of Indonesian Christians who came to the U.S. in the 1990s and early 2000s on tourist visas and stayed after their visas expired. Their application for asylum was denied after it was filed past the deadline. After the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, the government required undocumented aliens from Muslim-majority countries to register.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
In 2013 the four men worked out an arrangement with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which granted a "stay of removal" as long as they report periodically. They have since reported with ICE annually and their stays were extended each time, NorthJersey.com reported.
On May, the four checked in with ICE but were detained. Rep. Frank Pallone who introduced a bill to allow immigrants to reopen their asylum cases, called the throwing out of the Indonesians "morally reprehensible," especially since their families were not informed of their deportation.
"These men who sought asylum from religious persecution have now fallen victim to the Trump administration's appalling refugee and immigration policy," Pallone said. "His wife called me at a quarter to 6 a.m. (Friday). She's been going every single night to see him. When she went last night, she asked to see Rovani, and they said there's no Rovani here," he added.
