Ohio woman deported to Mexico calls family; says faith remains strong

Maribel Trujillo Diaz was deported back to Mexico today.

Maribel Trujillo Diaz was deported back to Mexico today.

Maribel Trujillo Diaz called her husband today after she had arrived in Mexico, according to the pastor at Hamilton’s St. Julie Billiart Church, the parish she attended.

“She said that her faith in God remains strong despite her suffering,” Father Mike Pucke told this news outlet.

Lawyers for Trujillo said the mother of four children between ages 3 and 14, was flown this morning from Louisiana, where she had been detained, to Mexico. Trujillo had been in the U.S. illegally since 2002.

Pucke says he is “outraged” and “heartbroken” that Trujillo was deported back to Mexico.

“As a citizen I am outraged that the government has said they will deport only ‘bad hombres’ and, in deporting Maribel Trujillo, have done the opposite,” Pucke said. “As Maribel’s pastor I am heartbroken, having just spent time with her husband and 3-year-old daughter.”

This Sunday, the Catholic Church will be celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday.

“In Spanish the word mercy is “misericordia” — taking the heart to where there is misery,” Pucke said. “It is a time when we celebrate that great gift of God’s mercy. We ask that his mercy be poured out on us as sinners. This year I will ask God’s mercy on us as a nation.”

An ecumenical prayer service for the Feast of Divine Mercy is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at St. Julie Billiart, 224 Dayton St. in Hamilton.

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