Religious leaders rally against bid to expel Mexican
NEWARK, N.J. — A man who entered the U.S. illegally more than 25 years ago Friday received a 60-day extension to seek a stay of deportation after the Archbishop of Newark, other members of the clergy and a U.S. senator marched to a federal building in support.
Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the head of New Jersey’s largest Roman Catholic archdiocese, and Sen. Bob Menendez, DN.J., were among those who rallied in support of Catalino Guerrero. He “puts a face” to what is often treated as “statistics or demons,” Tobin said.
Menendez said he hopes Guerrero’s case and others like it will hasten immigration reform.
“I hope President Trump is watching because Catalino Guerrero is not a ‘bad hombre,’” Menendez said, referring to a characterization made by the president recently of people who would be targeted for deportation. “He is a good and decent man.”
Organizers said the 59-yearold Guerrero came to the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 1991 and has worked ever since, owns his house and has no criminal record. The grandfather of four applied for a work permit several years ago but filled out a form incorrectly, they said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials summoned Guerrero last month and told him to plan to surrender his passport on March 10, Guerrero’s supporters said this week. He was seeking a year stay of removal, but that request was denied Friday.
An ICE spokesman said in an email Thursday that Guerrero, “a Mexican national unlawfully present, was ordered removed from the United States in 2009 by an immigration judge. Guerrero remains free from custody and must periodically report to ICE as a condition of his release.”
Tobin has been critical of President Trump’s immigration policies. Last month, he called Trump’s executive order temporarily banning immigrants from seven Muslimmajority countries “misbegotten” and said it was “playing on irrational fears of people.”
Tobin said lawmakers should focus on fixing immigration laws rather than on large-scale deportation.