Man lives in Detroit church to avoid deportation from his family

Rranxburgaj’s wife has advanced MS

DETROIT – A man has called Central United Methodist Church his home for two years. If he left the church he could face immediate arrest, deportation and separation from his wife.

READ: 90-mile march from Detroit to Lansing for immigrant families facing deportation

Ded Rranxburgaj’s wife, Flora, has advanced multiple sclerosis. Rranxburgaj also has a 17-year-old son and a 25-year-old son. For 23 months he has paced the confines of the sanctuary.

Rranxburgaj is a father, husband and provider. He said he was a professional chef for 17 years. While he is grateful for the protection of the church, he said he is going stir crazy.

Watch the video above for the full report.


About the Authors

Paula Tutman is an Emmy award-winning journalist who came to Local 4 in 1992. She's married and the stepmother of three beautiful and brilliant daughters. Her personal philosophy in life, love and community is, "Do as much as you can possibly do, not as little as you can possibly get away with".

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

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