An undocumented Mexican immigrant who lives with his wife and two young children in Havana was taken into custody last Thursday morning (March 22) by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The man, who has no criminal history or previous deportation orders, now faces possible deportation to his native country said Neil Rambana, a Tallahassee immigration attorney working with the man’s family.
Rambana did not release the man’s name or information about his job because of the sensitivity of the case.
Rambana said it was not clear whether the agency was conducting a sweep of Gadsden County, which is home to many migrant workers and undocumented immigrants.
Rambana said the man was taken into custody and transported to a detention facility in Crawfordville after answering a knock on his door.
Rambana said the man has lived in the Havana area for 11 years and that his children are U.S. citizens. He said the man, who is in his 30s, has established roots in the community; poses no danger to the community; and is not a flight risk.
He said the man’s family was “completely shocked” by his abrupt detention.
According to Rambana, the man’s detention is another sign of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants, something he promised in his 2016 campaign. Rambana said previous administrations focused enforcement efforts on people with serious criminal problems, or those with a history of being kicked out and returning to the United States.
But he said enforcement has become “indiscriminate” under the Trump administration.
Rambana said he plans to ask an immigration judge to cancel the man’s deportation based on the man’s good moral character and the hardship his deportation would put on his family.