Manager gets reassurance over hearing
Restaurant manager was told no arrest, deportation today.
Francisco Javier Gonzalez, the Palm Beach restaurant manager facing deportation, has been assured by United States Immigration Customs and Enforcement that he will not be arrested or deported at an immigration hearing today, according to lawyer Richard Hujber.
The decision came as a “result of all the calls, emails, letters, and support” ICE has received on Gonzalez’s behalf, Hujber wrote on a online petition on Change.org, which has more than 100,000 signatures from people pledging support to Gonzalez. Hujber also announced that he was canceling the rally he had tried to organize in support of Gonzalez outside the ICE office in Miramar.
However, Hujber wrote that Gonzalez will still report to the ICE office today to talk with immigration officials and hear an update on his immigration status.
For years, Gonzalez and Hujber have tried almost everything to keep Javier from being deported: They’ve pleaded to immigration agencies across the state, petitioned Gonzalez’s case to immigration officials, and asked for — and received — vocal support from South Florida and around the country.
But none of that may matter. His chances of being deported back to Mexico, away from his U.S.-born wife and three young daughters, are “at least 50-50,” Hujber said.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez, 36, lives with his family in West Palm Beach and works as the manager of Pizza Al Fresco in Palm Beach, where he has endeared himself to many of the island’s residents, who occasionally stop by for a slice of brick-oven pizza. In April, at the request of the Palm Beach Town Council and many prominent residents who support him, Mayor Gail Coniglio wrote a character reference for Gonzalez.
But ever since coming to the United States as a teenager, Gonzalez has faced issues with his immigration status. About 20 years ago, he was issued an expedited order of removal after entering the United States with what he thought was a valid visa, Hujber said. At the time, Gonzalez did not speak English well and did not understand the order, Hujber said. Gonzalez was deported and issued a fiveyear ban, but re-entered the country before the five years were up.
Since then, as Gonzalez met his wife, fathered a family and held jobs at Palm Beach restaurants, he has lived with the possibility of deportation over a misunderstanding when he was still a teenager. According to Gonzalez and Hujber, that process has been expedited since President Donald Trump took office. Trump has said he strongly opposes illegal immigration and sanctuary cities, and he has proposed building a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico and reportedly criticized Homeland Security Officials for not being aggressive enough on illegal immigrants.
Gonzalez said he thinks a letter detailing Gonzalez’s situation was delivered to Trump the last time Trump was at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach and said he thinks Trump’s administration is “aware of the case.”
Gonzalez has no criminal history, added Hujber, who, along with more than 100,000 people who have signed an online petition, thinks Gonzalez should be allowed to stay.
“He’s a good guy,” Hujber said. “He knows we’re gonna fight for him.”