The League of Iowa
Human & Civil Rights Agencies

William Diaz of the 462nd Transportation Battalion feels like he's fighting a war on two fronts. In April, the 39-year-old U.S. Army Reserve corporal is being deployed to Kuwait for a year-long tour. But for the past few months, Diaz has been fighting another very painful battle in his own backyard: American Servicing Corp., a division of Wells Fargo, is seeking a court order to foreclose on his two-family home in Elizabeth, N.J., a predominately Latino city. "I am being deployed. I can't say no. If I do, I face court martial. But I feel like I am being forced to choose between my family and my duty to my country," says Diaz. His voice sounds drained as he recounts his ordeal. He began falling behind on his $4,600 monthly mortgage payment when his employer, New Penn Motor Express, cut his hourly wages by nearly 50 percent and scaled back his hours when the economy tanked. Then, tenants who were renting the other half of his two-family house for $1,300 a month abruptly moved out, leaving him to shoulder the entire monthly payment.

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