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Jung Courville has been married to a U.S. citizen for 14 years, has two children, one of whom is disabled, and owns a small business in Norwalk, says CONNECT.
But the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ordered the woman, who is undocumented, to leave the country by the end of September.
The group is organizing a prayer vigil to support Courville on Monday, Aug 7, at 6 p.m. at St. Jerome Catholic Church at 23 Half Mile Road, Norwalk.
On July 28, Courville, a longtime member of St. Jerome and owner of Courville Retail Flowers (formerly Sarah’s Flowers) in Norwalk, has been in the U.S. since 1999 and has no criminal record, the group said.
She and her husband, Richard, a U.S. citizen, were married in 2003. Their two children, who are U.S. citizens, are in grades 4 and 8 at All Saints Catholic School in Norwalk.
One of her children was born with spina bifida and needs constant care, which is provided by Courville.
In 2010, she was traveling with her family in the Virgin Islands and was detained at the airport because she was undocumented.
Courville was released and told to report to ICE in Hartford. and granted a stay of removal. Every year since then, she has reported to her check-in appointment with ICE and has been granted a stay of removal.
Related story: Norwalk Mom Granted Stay Of Deportation, Allowed To Stay In U.S.
But this year, she was told to report by Aug. 28 with a plane ticket to Korea and to be out of the country by Sept. 27.
"Our country needs people like Jung Courville. She has proven herself to be a woman of responsibility, generosity, and faith," said a statement from CONNECT.
"We are a country that has always placed great value on welcoming new people to our shores -- as the Emma Lazarus poem on the Statue of Liberty says, 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.'"
Related story: CT Democrats Ask ICE To Reconsider Deporting New Fairfield Man
Last month, Nury Chavarria, a Norwalk mother of four, was ordered deported to her native Guatemala after 24 years in the U.S. Chavarria was granted a stay in her deportation after she took sanctuary in a New Haven church.
Chavarria also had no criminal record, worked as a housekeeper and had been meeting regularly with immigration officials. She can now work out her problems with her immigration status.
In another local case, New Fairfield resident Joel Colindres was given just 28 days notice of his order to be deported Aug. 17.
Colindrés, 33, was born in Guatemala and came to the U.S. without documentation in 2004. He married his wife, Samantha, a U.S. citizen, in 2010. They have two U.S.-borne children.
A trio of federal lawmakers from Connecticut have asked the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to reconsider his deportation order.
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