New hope for mother deported to Albania after living in US for 18 years

Children optimistic about appeal

MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – An Albanian mother of three was deported after living 18 years in Michigan, but a court has decided to give her case another look.

Peter Gojcevic's life drastically changed in a matter of months after his wife, Cile Precetaj, was deported to Albania. Their children made the difficult choice to follow their mother.

"Devastating, lonely. I wake up every day, look at the pictures, cry myself to sleep looking at the pictures of my family," he said.

After several appeals and denials the 6th Circuit Court in Cincinnati ruled in Precetaj's favor, believing the Board of Immigration Appeals should reopen her asylum case.

Attorney Michael Lacey believes it's a safety issue.

"They realize there is more to this case than the lower courts have seen," he said. "It's very dangerous for her to be there. It's dangerous for her children because they're Americans and could be kidnapped at any time and used for ransom."

Gojcevic said the children are optimistic about the appeal.

"They've started packing up and getting ready, and we said, 'No, this is a long process.'"

It will still be months before the family will know if they will be able to return to the the United States.


About the Authors:

Koco joined the Local 4 News team in September of 2016. She was born and raised in Metro Detroit, attended Central Michigan University, and previously worked at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids.

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.