close
close

Association-anemone

Bite-sized brilliance in every update

Pastor helps migrant family return body of deceased loved one to their home country
asane

Pastor helps migrant family return body of deceased loved one to their home country

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) – A Chicago pastor is trying to bring closure to a grieving family after their loved one lost their life earlier this year.

Immigrant rights attorney Pastor Julie Contreras said the woman entered the U.S. illegally in August and died in a car crash.

Migrants from Central and South America embark on a long journey in search of a better life. However, only a small number cross the border and even fewer reach their intended destination. This was the case for Azucena Rodriguez Mata.

Mata died at the scene of a car accident near Cotulla on August 3 after her alleged smuggler tried to escape law enforcement.

Mata had been identified from her ID and pictures she was wearing at the time of the crash, but the Webb County Medical Examiner declared her a Jane Doe.

Contreras stated, “Law enforcement has already identified her, there are plates that have been provided to them and X-rays. There is no reason why that young lady’s remains should not be released to her parents.”

Contreras helps Matea’s parents get their daughter’s remains so they can lay them to rest.

Mata’s parents were and are pleading with county officials to help them with the case.

Her father, Alberto Rodriguez Alaber, notes, “It’s been more than three months since my daughter died and the coroner won’t release our daughter’s remains.”

Her mother, Alfonsina Mata Torres, followed: “We ask the examiner to find it in her soul to send our daughter back to Oaxaca so we can say goodbye to her.”

It is the hope of the pastor and Matthew’s father that her daughter’s remains will soon return home so she can finally rest in peace.

KGNS has since contacted the coroner, but they were not available for comment.

For more titles, click Here.