Pete Gojcevic woke up Wednesday morning only to realize the nightmare he experienced was real.
Tuesday he put his three children on a plane so they could be with his previously deported wife in Albania. He has no idea when he will see any of them again.
‘I would not wish this situation on my worst enemy,’ said the Sterling Heights father, who made a pact with his wife that he would not falter in their plan to send the children to be with her in Albania.
They debated the issue, knowing it would be difficult for their American-born children, having no grasp of the language or culture. But in the end, they decided Gojcevic could not properly care for their children and his blind and ailing mother while maintaining a job.
‘It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, to say goodbye to my children,’ Gojcevic said, of his son, Michael, 16, and daughters, Megan, 10, and Martina, 8.
The death of his brother, who was his dearest friend, was difficult but he grieved and then life continued.
This is different, he remarked. His family is his life.
As a young boy in 1973, Gojcevic came to Michigan with his parents from Montenegro, formerly Yugoslavia, to escape the depression of communism. His father found work in the auto industry along with other businesses and was able to make a good life for his wife and two sons.
‘He was a hard worker,’ Gojcevic said of his late father. ‘If you wanted to talk to him, you had to move with him, because he was always busy.’
Gojcevic’s wife, Cile Precetaj, grew up in Albania and was known to his parents as a nice girl who was family oriented. His father encouraged him to send letters and get to know her. He did, and by the time she arrived in the U.S. via Canada in 2000, they were friends. Four years later they were married. Gojcevic said there were a number of dangers for his wife in Albania, including the constant threat of criminal groups involved in human trafficking. Over the years, both unsuccessfully tried to obtain citizenship, paying out more than $250,000 in legal fees.
On April 26, during a routine monthly visit to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices in Detroit, Cile was detained by authorities, jailed and with no opportunity to see her family one last time, deported.
Gojcevic admits he was charged with possession of a drug when he was young and suspects this may have led to his problems with immigration but insists his wife has done nothing wrong other than give authorities the wrong date she crossed the border into Michigan by a few hours.
The couple, who had been under ‘supervision’ by ICE, reported her arrival as being on June 10, 2000. It was actually in the early morning hours of June 11, 2000 that she crossed the border.
‘When she came through it was after midnight, and she didn’t know that,’ Gojcevic said.
On paper it appeared to ICE officers she lied, according to her husband, whose account was backed up by Michigan United, a statewide civil rights coalition.
‘I thought after she was detained that maybe a miracle would happen, that someone would reach out to us and help, but nobody did,’ Gojcevic said.
After several days in a county jail, where other women were awaiting deportation, she was escorted by ICE agents onto a plane bound for Albania.
Caught in the middle of it all have been their children, one of whom earned her school’s award for academic excellence and letter of congratulations signed by President Donald Trump only weeks after her mother was expelled from the country.
‘She broke down and cried after she got it,’ Gojcevic said of Megan, who excels in math and science and has strong opinions on matters concerning her family. ‘She wanted to refuse the award in protest, but was afraid it would get her mother in more trouble.’
On Tuesday afternoon, she packed her award and letter in a suitcase and, along with her siblings, made her way to Detroit Metropolitan Airport, where they boarded a flight.
Gojcevic said they were anxious to see their mother but fearful of the unknown like their new home and when they would see their father again.
Gojcevic said his children asked him not to cry knowing they would breakdown too, but he couldn’t help it.
‘I was devastated,’ he said. ‘I am a man with no country, no family, just a heartbeat.’
RELATED: See photos from tearful goodbye at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
Ramping up deportations
Pete Gojcevic is not alone. Here are some other people who have had family deported or are still fighting for a stay of removal, according to Michigan United, a statewide organization of community members and institutions fighting for the dignity and potential of all people.
The Albanian immigrant has been in sanctuary in Detroit’s Central United Methodist church since January so that he can stay and care for his wife who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. They have two sons, Eric an American citizen and Lorenc who is a DACA recipient for the time being.
Despite having been brought to the U.S. as a child, Jorge didn’t qualify for DACA by 2 years. His wife, Cindy and three children are all American citizens. They have spent years and thousands of dollars seeking citizenship but were unable to get more than a stay of removal until this year. The Garcia family drew worldwide attention when he was deported on MLK day. His last hope is an appeal through the Mexican embassy for a hardship exemption to reverse his deportation.
The First Congregational church of Kalamazoo has taken in this Pakistani immigrant who came to the U.S. via Kuwait in 2012. She has been in sanctuary since March and wants to continue to be an integral part of the community where she has served as a caregiver at Community Living Options and Bethany Christian Services. Her late daughter, Lareb, is laid to rest in a Kalamazoo graveyard. Her son, Samad is protected from arbitrary deportation by DACA until 2019.
