Middlesex County DA Supports Children of Missing Migrant Woman

Middlesex County District Attorney Provides Critical Support To Children Of Missing East Boston Immigrant Woman

Children of Reina Carolina Morales Rojas Apply for Humanitarian Immigration Relief

Providing critical support to the children of a woman missing since November 2022, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan has provided U Visa certifications that will allow the children of Reina Carolina Morales Rojas to apply for humanitarian immigration relief. The U Visa petitions are based on the children’s past and future collaboration and cooperation with law enforcement in the investigation of their mother’s disappearance. Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) is providing pro bono legal assistance to the children. 

Reina was last seen in Somerville on November 26, 2022.  Her disappearance has turned her children’s world upside down.  Lucy Pineda, the Executive Director of Latinos Unidos en Massachusetts (LUMA), has provided critical support and assistance to the family. LUMA also prompted law enforcement action.

In collaboration with our community partner, Alianza Americas, LCR traveled to El Salvador in August 2023 to meet Reina’s children: Kimberling (age 16) and Justin (age 14). The children’s plight has been the subject of intense public concern. They are not only missing the person they love the most in the world, but they are also deprived of their primary source of support – financial and otherwise. 

The U Visa certifications from District Attorney Ryan give the heartbroken children a glimmer of hope. U Visas provide a dedicated pathway to lawful immigration status for those who have been victims of a crime or who help law enforcement in criminal investigations. The certifications bring Reina’s children one step closer to justice by requesting this important immigration relief. It also brings them one step closer to the location where their mother was last seen, and where the investigation continues.  

“We applaud District Attorney Ryan for acknowledging the gravity of Reina’s disappearance and its impact on her children,” said Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, Executive Director of LCR. “U Visas are a key element of public safety and law enforcement. They are an important humanitarian protection for vulnerable people. They also help law enforcement officials build trust and confidence in immigrant communities. We urge other law enforcement agencies to follow District Attorney Ryan’s lead and to provide this critical support to other eligible victims and survivors of crime,” he added. 

The children are represented by LCR Senior Attorney Mirian Albert and Myraida Claros (née Melendez), the Director of LCR’s HealthJustice Project. 

Reina remains missing. Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts should call 911.