“You have to keep faith and keep pushing, stay patient and wait for when God says it’s the time.”
Rene Lima-Marin, whose bizarre odyssey through the legal system had been hung up in immigration court since last fall, walked free Monday afternoon from an Aurora detention facility after winning his case before the board of immigration appeals. The decision gave Lima-Marin his first moments of freedom since he was returned to prison nearly four years ago, when his earlier mistaken release from a robbery sentence launched him on an opportunity for a new life.
Although the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could have appealed in federal court, an ICE spokesman said Monday that while the agency is disappointed by the decision, it plans no further action against Lima-Marin “unless other future criminal convictions render him removable.”
The decision came down Friday, but Lima-Marin’s attorney, Aaron Elinoff, didn’t receive notice until Monday, by regular mail. The ICE decision appears to put an end to a long, strange story intertwining the criminal justice and immigration systems.
Heading home with his wife, Jasmine, Lima-Marin, 39, said her strength helped pull him through as well as his faith, which he rediscovered while serving his original prison sentence. But he never doubted that he would be released.
“I knew it was going to happen, I just didn’t know when,”
he said. “It’s rough when you have to deal with a lot of things in that environment, but you have to keep faith and keep pushing, stay patient and wait for when God says it’s the time.”
Improbable saga
Lima-Marin’s improbable saga began with his conviction in 2000 for two video store robberies in Aurora when he was 20. Prosecutors filed a litany of charges, including kidnapping because video store employees were moved from room to room during the crime.
At sentencing, Judge John Leopold indicated he was not comfortable with the way the case was charged. Lima-Marin’s multiple sentences added up to 98 years, to be served consecutively. But in 2008, he was mistakenly released due to a clerical error that listed his sentences as running concur- rently.
His accomplice, Michael Clifton, had his paperwork error discovered and corrected during an appeal. He continues to serve prison time.
After completing his parole, Lima-Marin forged a new life. He married and became a father to two boys, worked his way into a job as a glass installer and bought a home in Aurora. But when prosecutors discovered the paperwork error in 2014, he found himself back in prison.
Last May, he won his petition for habeas corpus and was ordered released by an Arapahoe County District Court judge.
But immediately upon his release from prison, LimaMarin encountered immigration issues stemming from his arrival in the U.S. from Cuba in 1980 during the Mariel boatlift, when he was about 2 years old. Although he found support in the state legislature and was pardoned by Gov. John Hickenlooper in the hope that eliminating his felony conviction would help him avoid deportation, immigration authorities pressed their case.
And so the entire family, including sons Justus and Josiah, once again awaited his release with cautious optimism, having already seen legal victory be delayed by the DHS decision to appeal.
“It’s over”
“I felt that way all the way up to when I walked out of the building,” Lima-Marin said. “Once I was out front, that’s when it felt real, like it’s over, and I’m good to go. Any anxiety went away. It was one of those disbelief kind of moments.”
Elinoff said everyone tried to keep their emotions in check.
“Even when I called and told them we won, all their responses were with reserved anticipation, trying to keep a lid on it,” he said. “I was hesitant to notify the media. I didn’t want to let anyone know till he was walking through the door.”
On the car ride home, Jasmine finally felt relief.
“We’re good, everything is great,” she said. “It’s how it’s supposed to be.”
Lima-Marin said he’s had multiple offers to resume work, including from the company he was working for when he was sent back to prison. But in the short term, he just wants to thanks all those who have supported him, have a home-cooked meal and spend some time with his family.
“To be honest, the only thing I’ve cared about was my wife and kids,” LimaMarin said. “I didn’t think about activities when I got out. It’s most important to be with family.”