Doctor's Immigration Ills

The office has been generous in its handling of the case. Because of Minya's emotional state and their two young children, neither Ghebrai nor his wife was taken into custody. In mid-January, however, at what they expected to be a perfunctory visit to the ICE office, Minya was handed a copy of the Eritrean Embassy's one-page passport renewal application and given 30 days to return it.

She was shaking when she left. "I wish I'd never been born," she said.

"We can't change the judge's decision," Herrera-Niles said later. "She's had her due process, and it's basically just time for her to go."

They have almost no options now. Pederson, who had been counting on psychological evaluations confirming Minya's diagnosis of acute post-traumatic stress, hopes to convince the Baltimore immigration director that there are humanitarian reasons to grant her clients what is known as "deferred action." That would put their deportation on hold, but with no guarantees.

Pederson also has advised Ghebrai to look toward Canada.

'He Contributes So Much'

Their pastors at Immanuel's Church in Silver Spring are rallying around them as the couple searches for strength and direction. The Sunday after Minya's appearance in Baltimore, the scripture from Revelation that greeted them at the morning service seemed prophetic: "See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut."

Doctors and nurses at Greater Southeast are lending support, too. Ghebrai, 47, began working at the hospital in 2005 after finishing a residency program at Howard University Hospital that qualified him to practice in this country. In his early years here, the internist supported his family in part by pumping gas.

"He contributes so much," Chief Medical Officer Cyril Allen said. "He was just as important to the hospital staying open as anyone."

Allen and other principals at the hospital have written testimonials on his behalf.

Last week, Greater Southeast elevated Ghebrai's stature, naming him director of one of its physician groups. Given the uncertainty of his future, he wasn't sure he should accept the title.

Finally, he agreed, adding another responsibility to his burden: the demands of his work, the concerns about his patients and, above all, his worries for his family.

"We just need peace," he said. "Whatever it is, we need peace."