Pastor Tim White of Trinity United Church of Christ addressed Quincy Human Rights Commission Thursday

QUINCY–A religious-based fundraising effort is underway to help a couple from Hungary and their children, who legally came to the United States, fight to stay in Quincy after they received a self-deportation letter.

They are one of three refugee families living in fear, according to Pastor Tim White of Trinity United Church of Christ in Quincy.

White said two of the families are from Haiti, and the couple from Hungary with three children. The youngest child, who is just one year old, was born here and is a U.S. citizen.

“They’re all afraid of being deported,” White said. “They’re all here legally, but the government policies are currently putting their existence in jeopardy.”

The Quincy Area Ministerial Association has established a refugee fund through the United Way, which is administered by the Unmet Needs Committee, to assist the families with their ongoing situation due to mounting legal fees.

“They can’t work without the appropriate documentation. The Hungarian family has applied twice and had to pay the fee twice. ($1,000 per adult). We don’t understand how the government can pull that off. The Hungarian family had a hearing in May. The final hearing isn’t until 2028.”

The Hungarian family can get assistance for their one-year-old because the child is a U.S. citizen, but not for themselves or their other children, ages two and 10.

The oldest child is homeschooled.

“They’re terrified that if they put her on a bus and send her to school, they won’t be there when she gets off the bus,” White said. “They’re afraid of being snatched and whisked away by ICE. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement).”

According to White, the husband survived a stabbing back in Hungary in an ambush attack during the controversial rule of Viktor Orbán, who was recently ousted during an election. The EU has repeatedly withheld billions in recovery funds from Hungary over systematic public corruption and political patronage.

The pastor says the husband owned a trucking business.

“The Orbán government tried to take over the trucking industry. When he tried to push back, he was ambushed and stabbed. They fled to Austria, but were followed, so they came here.”

He says the families are working really hard to integrate into American culture, and that includes learning to speak English.

“Of the three families, they have the best chance of staying in America because they’re white,” the pastor said of the Hungarian couple. “The immigration policies of our government are racist. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that.

“They were invited to come here with me tonight, and they’re trying to stay under the radar because they are afraid of being taken by the government and deported.”

A recent Hymn Sing fundraiser raised $3,000. During the event, the pastor says he heard another startling story.

“A lady came up to me and said, ‘Thank you so much for doing this. My good friend, who’s been here for many years, went to a routine immigration hearing in St. Louis, and she was detained and deported to Mexico.’ Her three children remain here in Quincy, and we don’t know how to reunite her with her babies.”

The Department of Homeland Security has been casting a wide net when it comes to mailings of self-deportation, even to those who have legal status.

There’s a case of an Arizona immigration attorney, Pamelia Rioles Saeed, who received a self-deport notice, despite being born in the U.S., possibly because many of her foreign national clients used her email address.

“The whole process is set up to cause people who are immigrants to choose to leave,” White said.

With so many safety concerns, White did not provide names.

Instead, he put himself out there, knowing how contentious an issue this is nationally, hoping to appeal to the gentler side of Quincians’ disposition.

“We all need to stand together and support these people,” White said. “If we’re really going to be a city of refuge that we’ve heard so much about during the Adams County bicentennial celebration, we need to stand with our immigrant neighbors.”

Paul Lange, who was at the meeting for a presentation on food insecurity, was so moved that he stood up and placed some cash in the pastor’s hand.

Paul Lange (in plaid shirt) was so moved by Pastor Tim White’s remarks that he offered some cash for the refugee families – MRN photo by Michele McCormack