BALTIMORE — April 26th will mark one month since the Dali hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse.
So far, divers were able to recover the bodies of Maynor Sandoval from Honduras, Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes from Mexico, Dorlian Castillo Cabrera from Guatemala, and Carlos Hernández from Mexico.
While the recovery process continues for Miguel Luna and Jose Lopez, CASA, along with Catholic Charities’ Esperanza Center, has been working to get the families of those men to the United States.
16 of the family members are already in the United States, and 8 more are expected to arrive this week.
Siblings and parents will be joining loved ones in the U.S., some of whom haven’t seen each other in decades, to provide comfort and, in some cases, bring their loved ones back home for burial.
In addition to those who are traveling to the US, several family members have also successfully been granted Advanced Parole, which will permit them to safely bring their loved ones home.
“Two of our members were directly impacted, but we have been able to connect directly with all of the families in addition to working very closely with Esperanza Center to ensure all of the direct needs that the families needed were supported this time," says Lydia Walter-Rodriguez, Chief of Organizing and Leadership, CASA.
Rodriguez says it is very important for the family members to be able to have this moment, because many of them haven’t seen the men for years.
“Our members are directly impacted working-class and immigrant communities that knows what it feels like to not see their families for decades," says Lydia.
CASA was able to obtain visitor visas for the relatives of all six of the men.
After that, the Esperanza Center scheduled flights for each of the 24 family members to get to the U.S.
CASA also credits the staff of Senator Chris Van Hollen, the White House, and the Maryland, Baltimore City, and Baltimore County offices of Immigrant Affairs for making this happen.
In a statement to WMAR 2 News, the program director from the Esperanza Center said:
“In the aftermath of the tragic bridge collapse Esperanza Center continues to do all that we can, in collaboration with our community partners and colleagues across Catholic Charities, to support and care for those who have lost loved ones. We are grateful to the families and relatives who have trusted us to support them in this most difficult of times,”
