Former Miss Hawaii fights to keep her family together
By Paul Drewes
Click here for updates on this story
HONOLULU (KITV) — Getting around for former Miss Hawaii Cheryl Bartlett is not easy, as she suffers from complications from type 1 diabetes.
“I’m legally blind at this point. I have some central vision, but almost no peripheral vision,” stated Bartlett.
Usually her husband of nearly 17 years, Rogerio Carlos Barbosa Araujo, would be by her side, helping her and monitoring her medical conditions.
“He took me to everything and brought me home. So, he was my helper, my helpmate. I mean, that’s the way marriages work.”
Her disability was not the reason why the journey to the Federal Building was such a challenge Monday. Instead it was because she had to pick up her husband’s belonging from the Department of Homeland Security after Rogerio was arrested by ICE agents last Tuesday.
“He’s in the Federal Detention Center. It is a type of prison. He’s never been in prison.”
But Rogerio did face deportation before in 2013, before an immigration judge put that on hold.
Rogerio married Cheryl, a U.S. citizen, but marriage doesn’t automatically make you a U.S. citizen.
In fact, after the wedding Rogerio was still not able to get a green card because of what Bartlett called a clerical error.
While he is being deported back to Brazil, Cheryl stresses, “He’s not a criminal, period. He is not a criminal.”
Now he is again facing deportation, this former pageant queen is making an urgent plea.
“I am asking the immigration judges, the court, anyone who can, to extend grace to him – so that he can stay with me. You know, we’re a family here in Hawaii.”
She hopes to be able to keep him here in Hawaii, where he has become a part of the independent film industry. But she worries time is running out.
“I’ve been told that people in the situation he is in, could be deported at any time. He does have an attorney, so I’m hoping they’ll be respectful and allow him to go through due process.”
Rogerio’s friends plan a rally at the Federal Building on Wednesday at 12:30pm. They want to make more people aware of this case and show Rogerio how much they support him.
Even though she is devastated by what has happened, Cheryl wants those attending to only bring love to the ICE office – instead of anger or hate.
This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.