The Trump administration promised to prioritize the deportation of unlawful immigrants with criminal records. However, a father from Houston with no criminal convictions was among those deported.
Just says after President Donald Trump pledged to remove gang members and drug dealers in his speech to Congress in February, immigration agents deported a 31-year-old father of two American children from Houston. Jose Escobar lived in the United States since he was 15. He previously gained a temporary reprieve from deportation, reported the Houston Chronicle.
Escobar who was born in El Salvador, was arrested on Feb. 22 when he attended the Houston immigration office for his annual check-in. Escobar benefitted from a provisional stay of deportation. He had a work permit since 2012, when he was released from immigration custody following a high-profile congressional and media campaign.
Cesar Espinosa, whose advocacy organization FIEL Houston lobbied in Escobar’s case, said he was deported so quickly it did not have the chance to make its case.
President Trump pledged to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal records, especially those with violent offenses to their name.
Escobar did not commit any crimes. He ended up deportation proceedings due to a paperwork mistake.
When he was 15, his mother who was living in the United States sent for him. He qualified for temporary protected status under a clause applying to people escaping disasters in certain countries. Escobar’s mother thought his permit would automatically renew when she reapplied for hers. She was incorrect.
The family moved and they did not receive paperwork informing Escobar he had missed the deadline.
When he finally worked out a glitch occurred, he attempted to reapply for the permit but was too late. The U.S. government started deportation proceedings. Escobar’s wife said an attorney told him he should not attend the court hearing for fear of being deported. The judge ordered him removed from the United States in 2006.
The order was not enforced at the time. The family lived quietly in New Orleans and Texas. However, immigration agents arrested Escobar on June 6, 2011. His wife consulted immigration lawyers, a Change.org petition was started and the family enlisted the help of U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.
Jose Escobar is Back in El Salvador After Being Deported
After spending seven months in detention, Escobar was released in January 2012 on an order of supervision. It was in effect a provisional stay of deportation. Escobar was required to check in with immigration agents annually and given a temporary work permit.
His time in the United States abruptly ended when he reported in this year. He is now in back in El Salvador.
Although the Trump administration has put the emphasis on the deportation of undocumented immigrants with a criminal record, Escobar was the victim of a paperwork mistake years ago. His arrest sends an alarming message to those immigrants who start families and make a valuable contribution to the United States.
If you or a family member is threatened with deportation, you should contact an experienced Texas cancellation of removal attorney as soon as possible. Please call us at (512) 399-2311.