Surviving Spouses Against Deportation

Maria Diaz-Ruiz' story was highlighted in the Spanish Language Newspaper La Opinion.

Regarding Diana Engstrom, Senator Durbin (D-IL) has said, "The Engstrom story is one of service. Both the late Todd Engstrom and his widow, Diana, have spent their professional lives in service of human rights and American ideals. Todd served as a Commander in the United Nations Special Operations Group; Diana worked as a United Nations translator in Kosovo. After their marriage in 2003, Diana filed for legal permanent residency, with the ultimate goal of achieving American citizenship.

After the commencement of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Todd joined EOD Technology, Inc. as a Security Manager for Iraq. The U.S. Army assigned Todd to Iraq as a contractor to support our rebuilding efforts. Before leaving for Iraq, Todd asked Diana to raise his son, Dalton, in the event of his death.

Assigned to an area just outside of Fallujah, Todd helped train Iraqi security forces. On September 14, 2004, Todd died in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on his convoy by Iraqi insurgents."

"All we're asking for is a bit of common sense. We need someone to tell the agency to stop this madness or Congress to enact some laws that provide for this," Renison says.

Bills are pending in the House and Senate to direct immigration to change its policy. That can't happen soon enough for Diana Engstrom. Her husband Todd was killed in Iraq. They'd met in her native Kosovo, fallen in love, and gotten married near Todd's home in Illinois. Then he signed up with a private contractor to train Iraqi soldiers.

Asked why Todd went to Iraq, Diana says, "He told me he wanted to serve his country. It was his duty to do that."

Then one day, the truck Todd was riding in was hit by a rocket propelled grenade.

Todd's father Ron got the first call, explaining how his son had died. "A rocket propeller grenade hit basically where Todd was sitting. Todd was killed instantly. It's the kind of call that no parent should have to receive," he remembers.

And soon after that, Ron heard that immigration wanted Diana to leave the country. His reaction? "Disbelief. We had buried our son. Was in the shock of that. We were just in shock again."

"I don't think that any other country would treat a widow like that. So, it's just unbelievable," Diana adds.

Immigration said Diana couldn't become a resident because she hadn't had her immigration interview with Todd, so she couldn't prove her marriage was bona fide. "There was no question that they were in love, that they were happy; that they were gonna build a future together. No question," her father-in-law Ron says.

Diana is part of Renison’s class action suit, so she hasn't been deported - yet. She and the other families feel the government has betrayed them, and worse, betrayed their dead husbands and sons.

"Cindy, what do you want our viewers to understand," Simon asks Todd's mother.

"That our son gave his life for this country," she says. "And our government should stand behind him and do what he would have wanted."

You can watch the whole 60 Minutes episode online at the CBS News Website.