Assistance for a Trenton woman attempting to remain in the U.S. legally continues to pour in and 20-year-old Lauren Gray will be headed to Washington D.C. next week to meet with senators concerning her plight.
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Lauren, her mother Ali Gray and grandparents Colin and Nora Withers attended Monday night’s Trenton City Council meeting to ask for continued help in Lauren’s efforts to receive a work visa that would allow her to stay in the only country she has ever known as home. Under current U.S. law, Lauren will have to return to England on her 21st birthday if the green card applied for several years ago is not granted.
Lauren said she has received lots of support in her efforts and noted that an attorney in Oregon has set up a series of meetings with various senators in Washington D.C. to discuss the issue in hopes of getting it resolved. Melissa Roe, representing the office of Congressman Sam Graves, said a request made on Lauren’s behalf by Graves to meet in Missouri with a representative of the State Department was turned down, but that efforts are being made to have a meeting in Washington D.C. When learning about Lauren’s trip there next week, Mrs. Roe offered to help set up meetings as well as did Greg Razer, a representative from the office of U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. Mrs. Roe also talked about other efforts made on Lauren’s behalf and noted that it is apparent she and her family have the support of the community “based on the letters and calls the congressman’s office has received. We share their frustration.”
Lauren was scheduled to leave the U.S. on July 31, but said that trip has been postponed until her visit to D.C. She is hopeful that meetings there will precipitate a resolution to her problem and her move back to England will be unnecessary. However, she said she is prepared to go back and stay with family until she can get legal permission to remain in the U.S.
Councilman Kenneth Ewing expressed frustration at the family’s efforts in dealing with the government, noting that the Grays and Withers “are the quality people that the U.S. was founded on, the cream of the crop.” He stated that having this issue “controlled by politics is just ridiculous. It frustrates me as a voter and a citizen. I am very proud of these people.”
Mayor Dr. Nick McHargue said he was sympathetic to the situation and noted that a lot of federal agencies “put in rules that don’t make a lot of sense.”
Councilman Jacob Black asked that the city continue its support of the situation and keep the matter in the forefront of officials. He said that a lot of times it takes pressure to get them to pay attention. He said that the family is a “reflection of Missouri values.”
Letters were also sent by the city to the offices of President Obama, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, State Sen. Brad Lager and State Rep. Casey Guernsey, however, no representatives from those offices attended the meeting.