The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Judge grants Connecticut couple stay in deportation case
Ruling comes after clergy, advocates arrested in effort to help
HARTFORD — After 36 people blocked court access and were arrested, the Ramos family got word Monday evening that a New York immigration judge had granted them a stay so he can consider reopening the couple’s deportation case.
Attorney Michael Boyle said Franklin and Gioconda Ramos will likely be here until at least Oct. 18.
That is the date when BI Inc., which monitors GPS ankle bracelets, told the couple to check in with them.
The pair had been scheduled to leave the country and return to their native Ecuador on Friday after living in the U.S. for 24 years.
Boyle said generally Immigration and Customs Enforcement will have two weeks to state its position in reopening the case.
It was a happy turn of events for the family whose oldest son, Jason Ramos, 24, had been among those participating in the civil disobedience at Immigration Court in Hartford around 8 a.m., when three dozen protesters blocked entry to the Immigration Court in Hartford.
They were among some 200 protesters demonstrating on behalf of the Ramoses and ICE deportation policies in general, as more undocumented immigrants without criminal backgrounds are being ordered to leave.
Jason Ramos had only shortly been released from custody when he heard the news. Those arrested included four members of the clergy and a Yale professor.
Boyle, earlier in the day, said they had a good case, but rule changes have made it hard for cases closed for more than 180 days old to be considered.
ICE has yet to issue details of the stay, but in a statement said that “recently an immigration court granted the couple a stay of removal in furtherance of their legal proceedings.”
Boyle had filed his motion with the New York Immigration Court on Friday and thought the legal document was in the mail.
ICE, in its statement, traced the history of the couple’s status issues.
Both had final orders of removal issued by an ICE judge in New York in 2005, but Franklin Ramos said he never received the order and wasn’t aware of it until 2012 when he continued to pursue legal status.
He was then held for three months, but later was allowed to stay under prosecutorial discretion, which the Obama administration had used for the undocumented who were not a priority for removal.
After years of renewed stays, on Aug. 1, ICE, operating under the new policies of the Trump administration, proceeded with the original 2005 removal order.
“We are very happy that Judge McCarthy took this action to preserve his jurisdiction over the motion to reopen. We hope that ICE will re-evaulate its position and not oppose the motion, and we hope that the judge will approve it,” Boyle said in a statement.
“We are incredibly grateful to all who have showed their support for the Ramos family as we try to reopen the case and keep the family together,” Boyle said.
The clergy who were arrested are the Rev. Robert Beloin and the Rev. Karl Davis, both of St. Thomas More Chapel at Yale University, as well as the Rev. Paul Fleck of Hamden Plains United Methodist Church in Hamden and Elder Ron Hurt of Deliverance Temple Pentecostal Church in New Haven.
Yale professor Jennifer Klein, who teaches 20th century U.S. history, was also arrested and spoke of the direction her Jewish faith has given her, particularly now in the time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, where Jews are reminded to practice social justice, or tikkun olam, which is to “repair the world.”
The Ramoses, both 43, split their time between here and New York.
Both were working Monday and were represented by their sons at the sit-in.
Born in America, Jason Ramos, said as a citizen he felt it was his duty to “stand against injustice.” He is now the guardian for his younger brother, Erick, 17, in the event their parents are deported. Both are enrolled in Central Connecticut State University.
“What we have here are the faces of the nation who are under attack — the trauma that is being put on our community is not something that should be happening in this day and age,” Ramos said of the diverse crowd at the demonstration.
“My liberty, my justice, my freedom has already been compromised. My life has been compromised. My family is my life. I am here today to ... arouse the consciousness of the community at large,” he said.
Beloin opened the sit-in with a prayer, asking God to look down on this nation “so that it is a place of welcome for all peoples. Bless those who are struggling with deportation, give them hope and courage and assure them of our support.”
Before the demonstration began, Beloin reflected about why he was there.
“... the (Catholic) church is pro-life, pro-family and it is just appalling that families are being broken up — hard working families who are here trying to have a life together. It is really a disgrace — a moral disgrace,” Beloin said.
John Lugo, who founded New Haven-based Unidad Latina en Accion, promised to be back if the deportations and arrests continue.
Davis, 46, said he was there to express empathy for his “brothers and sisters in need.” He said if the situation were reversed, and he was in their position, “I would hope that someone would advocate for me.”
Klein said healing the world “... is what we have to do now. This is what the Ramos family is asking us to do — make sure that we defend them and other families as part of our community and part of our world that we will heal and that we will work for justice.”
Erick Ramos thanked the crowd that remained after the arrests were made.
“My mom cries every night. She doesn’t eat anymore,” he told them.
Pointing to Marcos Reyes’ 12-year-old daughter, he asked how the government can allow her to be separated from her father. “Who thinks that is right? ... He is not leaving because he is a deadbeat dad. He is leaving because America is telling him to.”
“We have proved ourselves. We have paid taxes. We have no criminal record,” Erick said of his family, promising to be successful here, because that is how he was raised. He said they have always had to be resilient.
“I’m going to see my mom’s face no more. I’m not going to see my dad’s face anymore,” he said, tearing up. “I stand here strong, but it is breaking me down.”
The Hartford Police Department had not returned a call for comment by evening. The advocates said the 36 had been charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing.
The arrests were orderly, as protesters were placed into police vans for transport to the station for booking.
After the speeches had ended, the crowd marched on the sidewalk, shouting “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here; No borders, no nations. Stop the deportation; If you don’t let us dream, we won’t let you sleep.”
Fanny Reyes, wife of Marcos Reyes Alvarez, who has sought sanctuary at First and Summerfield Methodist Church in New Haven for the past seven weeks, was there and said it is a very difficult time for herself, her son and two daughters.
“It is very painful for us to see him and leave him every night at the church,” she said. Reyes said they only want to return to working and raising their family, as the crowd started chanting, “Free Marcos.”
Jesus Morales Sanchez, an activist with Unidad Latina en Accion, asked advocates last week, to come visit Reyes, who cannot leave the church for fear of being picked up by ICE.
“We want that intersection to become a symbol. It is now a part of New Haven history,” he said of the church’s location at Elm and College streets.
Attendees at the event in Fair Haven signed a letter of solidarity with Reyes.