CORONA — Part of Father Manuel de Jesús Rodriguez’s legacy in the Diocese of Brooklyn is his outreach to immigrants. One example of his efforts is the story of Galo Tobar, an immigrant from Ecuador who belonged to Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Corona, where Father Rodríguez has served as pastor since 2020. 

Last November, Tobar’s wife, Juana, and their two children were missing for seven days after being taken into ICE’s custody following a routine immigration hearing. At the time, Tobar said his wife was in the middle of a risky pregnancy.  

“It’s been very sad to go back home and not find them,” Tobar said. “I had no way of knowing where they were.” 

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Tobar, who was a political organizer back in Ecuador, said he received death threats in his homeland, but his application for asylum in the U.S. was rejected. In 2023, the family received a deportation order. Tobar said his family’s arrest felt more like an abduction. 

“I knew at any time we could be taken back to Ecuador,” he said. “We respect the laws, but I needed to know where my family was.” 

In December, Tobar learned they were transferred to an ICE facility in San Antonio, where they were kept in a small room for days, unable to let Tobar know they were OK.  

With the help of Father Rodríguez, who made calls on the family’s behalf, Tobar learned that his family had been sent back to Ecuador.  

Tobar said he had no choice but to self-deport back to Ecuador. There, he expected to rejoin his family and try to pick up the pieces. 

“We didn’t come to this country to harm anybody,” Tobar said. “I’ll always be grateful for this country.” 

Meanwhile, Father Rodríguez set about getting some near-term help for the family 

“Our church community, we will be helping them financially to support them however we can,” he told Currents News. “We won’t abandon them.” 

“Yes, deportation was to be observed,” he added. “But the way it was done, very bad, against basic human rights.”