ICE to free Richmond man held for 2 years
A Richmond construction worker detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for two years will be freed, a federal judge ruled Friday.
Dozens of immigration advocates across the Bay Area had rallied for the man, despite convictions for driving under the influence and assault, saying ICE should not hold undocumented immigrants indefinitely.
Raul Lopez, 46, from Guatemala was detained in March 2017 during a routine ICE check-in and taken to the West County Detention Facility in Richmond. When Contra Costa County ended its contract with ICE last year, Lopez, a father of four, was moved more than 1,000 miles away to a private detention center in Aurora, Colo.
Because of his prolonged detention, Lopez’s case attracted heavy media attention and became the focal point of a debate on the indefinite detention of undocumented immigrants. Advocates argue that it violates immigrants’ constitutional rights and makes it extremely difficult for them to
properly fight their cases.
Community members across the Bay Area rallied for Lopez’s release for more than a year, often protesting ahead of his court hearings. More than 30 supporters crammed a small courtroom for the three-hour hearing in San Francisco on Friday. Lopez telephoned in from Colorado.
He was ordered released on a $25,000 bond and was given strict guidelines for rehabilitation, including a threemonth stay at a supervised facility.
Lopez detailed his long history with alcoholism — for which he had never sought treatment — during the hearing.
Since his arrest, Lopez has come to terms with his alcoholism and is committed to rehabilitation, he told Judge Joseph Park.
“I realized I made a big mistake driving under the influence, and now I’m very focused on rehabilitation,” he said through an interpreter. “I have in mind the suffering and sadness that my family has experienced in these two years that I’ve been detained.”
Department of Homeland Security attorney Deborah Ho cast doubt on Lopez’s chances for rehabilitation, pointing out his DUI convictions and his lack of treatment in previous years. Ho declined to comment on the ruling Friday.
ICE had twice blocked Lopez from being released on bond, arguing that criminal convictions made him a threat to public safety. Lopez has three misdemeanor DUI convictions and one misdemeanor assault charge, according to his attorney, Daniel Werner. ICE has said Lopez had four DUIs.
His victory is symbolic of what many immigrants are experiencing, from indefinite detention to jail transfers and inhumane jail conditions,” said Juan Prieto, spokesman for the California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance. “It’s a victory against all of the different injustices that we’re seeing come out of the executive branch from President Trump.”
Lopez was given a final deportation order in May 2009, which he’s appealed multiple times, according to ICE. He’s awaiting a final decision on his latest appeal, the agency said.
“ICE officers evaluate the totality of circumstances in making custody determinations,” a spokeswoman said in a statement this month. “The facts and circumstances around his case, including a conviction for a violent crime and four DUI convictions, deem him a threat to public safety. As a result, ICE will continue to detain him until the outcome of his appeal is determined.”
But Judge Sallie Kim granted Lopez a bond hearing late last month, saying his prolonged detention was no longer justified.
“He’s a great father to our kids,” his wife, Dianeth, 38, said this month. “Every day he would go on walks with them. He helped them with their homework. Now I’m on my own. It’s been extremely difficult.
“My kids are teenagers. This is when they need a father the most.”
Lopez immigrated to the U.S. illegally from Guatemala in 1989 and petitioned for asylum in 1993, according to Werner. But he said he was defrauded in the U.S. by an individual who wasn’t licensed to practice immigration law — commonly known as notarios in Spanish. As a result, Lopez said, he didn’t receive notice about his asylum hearing at the time and was ordered deported for not showing up to court. His criminal convictions put him on ICE’s radar throughout the years.