Dear Friends,
Having just returned from a year working in Bosnia, it was deeply painful for me to learn that a young Bosnian man, a torture survivor, was denied asylum in the U.S. and has been sitting in jail for the past few months in Virginia awaiting deportation.
Ramo Rustemovic is a 29-year-old Bosnian Muslim from Srebrenica. It is likely that the immigration system's denial of his asylum application was at least in part on account of his religion. His case, however, is not so straight-forward. Ramo is married to an American citizen, with whom he is raising two infant children, also American citizens. For the past two years, Ramo has worked at the same Virginia company, and his employer has nothing but rave reviews for Ramo's work there.
Although Ramo survived three years in a Serbian concentration camp, lost both his parents, and was brutally tortured, this young man was denied asylum by the US immigration courts. Now, he is again in prison, this time in Virginia, awaiting deportation. If deported, the soonest he could legally return to his family is 2017.
In order to help Ramo, his legal counsel needs one thing from each and every one of you: Your signature of support.
These types of petitions are proven to help people in Virginia, like Ramo. Please participate in our show of support for him and his family.
If you have any questions please contact us.
Sincerely,
Sarah Grausz
Ramo supporter & Balkan expert
Sarah.grausz@gmail.com
Anita Schneider
Attorney at Law
aschneider@vcu.org
Ramo (click for photo)
