Immigrant of the Day: Rufo Roman (Mexico)

Rufo Roman, currently of Spartanburg, South Carolina, is our Immigrant of the Day.  Roman, who owns the restaurant Mexico Lindo East with his wife, Rita, is being held in detention awaiting deportation. Rufo pled guilty to re-entry of a deported alien but had admitted his illegal status on immigration forms several years ago as part of the process to gain permanent residency status and paid a $1,000 fine, his wife said. 

Friends petitioned on his behalf, describing Roman as an otherwise law-abiding businessman trying to stay with his family through what he thought were the correct channels. “We tried to do it right to the best of our ability,” said Rita, a native of Lebanon and a U.S. citizen. “The government never told us we did anything wrong until five years later. We paid the dues. We told them everything, to the best of our knowledge. “We’re very sorry he entered the country illegally, but we tried to rectify it by making him legal.”

The Romans were married in 2002 in the United States. Rita has one daughter, 11-year-old Nawal, whom Rufo, a Mexican national, helped raise since she was 3. He was head chef at the restaurant, which has hosted Spartanburg County Republican Party events, monthly chats with U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis and charity functions, including free dinners for the needy and fundraisers. County Democratic Party Chairwoman and former U.S. Rep. Liz Patterson, who lobbied on Rufo’s behalf, called the way the case was handled unfortunate. “He’s a successful businessman here in town and has been trying to get his green card for a number of years and did not realize he was in violation of the law,” she said. Patterson said she was disturbed to learn immigration officials wouldn’t allow the Roman family to pay for a flight to Mexico, where Rufo could begin application for residency, but rather are keeping him in custody at taxpayers’ expense.

For more about Roman, click here.

KJ