This browser does not support the Video element.
Ann Arbor immigrant appeals to stay in U.S. for needed medications
Abraham Navarretete-Morales is on nine very expensive medications that keep him alive.
An Ann Arbor immigrant is making a life or death appeal to immigration officials after undergoing a kidney transplant that he says requires him to stay in the U.S. for ongoing treatment.
Abraham Navarretete Morales is on nine very expensive medications that keep him alive.
"It suppresses my immune system that way, my body won't attack a new kidney and that's the medication that I need to be on for the rest of my life, as long the kidney works," he said.
His private health insurance policy that covers those medications expired this week.
"When Abraham called his insurance company, they advised him that he needed to demonstrate valid immigration status before he can re-enroll," said his attorney Brad Thomson.
Abraham's deferred action status with U.S. citizenship and immigration services expired in October of 2018. His attorney has been trying to get it renewed ever since.
"All those hundreds, maybe thousands of applications that they have there sitting in a desk, it's not just numbers those are people's lives," Abraham said.
"If this application is approved, Abraham will be able to immediately re-enroll in his health insurance plan," Thomson said.
Abraham only has a 30-day supply left of his medication. He says it costs roughly $7,000 a month, but through insurance -- $400-$500.
Despite being in the U.S. for more than a decade, Abraham doesn't have a visa and he is at risk of being deported back to Mexico.
"It would be pretty much like a death sentence for me because then I'm back to dialysis, and from the information I've gotten from Mexico, people literally die at the hospital waiting for dialysis," he said.
FOX 2 contacted U.S. citizenship and immigration services for this story but a representative told us they do no comment on pending cases.