150 gather to remember Ana Romero

This is a Herald-Leader story about Ana Romero, posted in solidarity with our allies a KCIRR.

150 gather to remember Ana Romero
From the Lexington Herald-Leader
By Steve Lannen

FRANKFORT – Marking three months after Ana Romero's death, family and friends stood in a grassy area not far from where she died.

"We are here to grieve for the loss of one taken from us too soon," said the Rev. Steven Pace of Frankfort.

Ana Romero Rivera was due to be deported in three to six weeks.

Romero, who was set to be deported back to El Salvador, was held for several weeks in the Franklin County Regional Jail. The night before immigration officials were to pick her up, she was found hanging in an isolation cell. She was pronounced dead early the next day.

Outside the jail Friday, near a picnic pavilion, about 150 people stood in the bitter cold with small candles and listened to pastors and other speakers try to make sense of her death.

Many details of what led to her death remain unknown. The Franklin County coroner and commonwealth's attorney have an open investigation. It also appears that Romero should have been released before her death because of an expired immigration detainer.

"If anything was done wrong here, we want to make sure justice is done," said Brian Rich of the Kentucky Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights ...

Read the full story on the Lexington Herald Leader's website here.