SUNSET PARK — Rosemarie Vaquero fondly remembers that whenever she walked through the neighborhood with her friend, Father Ruskin Piedra, C.Ss.R., people would stop them to thank him and shake his hand.

“We couldn’t get down one block without somebody coming up to us,” said Vaquero, who explained that the people thanking Father Piedra were usually immigrants he had helped at the Juan Neumann Center, the program he founded in 2003 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) in Sunset Park. 

Father Piedra, a Redemptorist priest who served at the basilica, died on Dec. 22, just eight days shy of his 91st birthday. His friends talked to The Tablet about his impact on the immigrant community while pledging to keep the center alive. 

“We are not going anywhere,” said Vaquero, who works at the Juan Neumann Center. 

On any given week, between 20 and 30 people walk through the center’s doors seeking help with immigration issues. The center helps its clients navigate the country’s immigration system by explaining the law, filling out paperwork, and representing them in immigration court.

Father Karl Esker, C.Ss.R., an OLPH priest who has assumed Father Piedra’s directorial duties at the center, estimates that his late friend assisted tens of thousands of immigrants with visas, green cards, asylum claims, and other issues.

“For 21 years, he was the face of the Neumann Center, and he dedicated his life to the center and the work here,” Father Esker said. “He was a man who really was concerned about people, and when he saw people suffering, he wanted to do something to alleviate that suffering.”

He added that Father Piedra, the son of Cuban immigrants, was particularly concerned about the plight of immigrants who needed help staying in the United States but couldn’t afford to hire lawyers to represent them in immigration court.

While Father Piedra was not a lawyer, he was accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) through a DOJ program called Recognition & Accreditation, which allows non-lawyers to be trained and certified to represent clients in immigration court.

Father Esker, who has been involved with the center since 2018, recalled one particular case involving a Guatemalan asylum seeker, which illustrated Father Piedra’s passion for his work. 

“When they went before the judge, he painted a picture of the suffering the man had endured in Guatemala,” he said. “The judge told Father Piedra how impressed he was with the presentation. Then the judge told the man, ‘Welcome to the United States.’ It was quite a moment.”

Vaquero talked of how deeply Father Piedra cared about his work and the passion he brought to his role.

“If he had to be at the courthouse, he would get there hours ahead of time, and even at his age, he took the subway,” she recalled. 

​​Some who came through the center were so inspired by Father Piedra they decided to give back by helping immigrants. A handful worked at the center over the years. Others have volunteered at OLPH, where Father Piedra directed the pre-Cana program for Spanish-speaking couples, trained altar servers, and worked with special needs children in the faith formation program.

Ana Leon, who came to the U.S. from Guatemala 20 years ago, secured a green card in 2019 with Father Piedra’s help. She is now starting the process of becoming a citizen. After years of volunteering at OLPH, she now works there as a secretary.

“I was so happy when I finally got my green card,” Leon said. “Father Piedra kept telling me, “Soon, soon! You will get it soon.’ He believed in me.”

Father Piedra even inspired his fellow priests to help immigrants, according to Father Manuel Rodriguez, C.Ss.R. He serves at OLPH but said he met Father Piedra 27 years ago when they served together in Florida. 

“I was very, very impressed when I first met him, and over the years, he helped me,” Father Rodriguez said. “I was trying to establish an immigration center in Puerto Rico because I was thinking of the Dominicans there, who were immigrants. So I invited him down, and he helped me set it up.”

Those who knew him also said Father Piedra grew close to his colleagues at the center. 

“He was like family to me,” Vaquero said. “If you were his friend, he would do anything for you. He was a great man, and we will miss him forever.”