Driver’s License Application Leads to Detention of Chicago Father & Community Advocate
Last year, when Felipe Diosdado heard that undocumented immigrants could now obtain driver’s licenses in Illinois, he was excited at the opportunity. But on the date of his appointment to apply for the Temporary Driver’s License, immigration officials were waiting for him to take him into immigration detention.
Felipe was in detention for a month, while his family and community advocated for his release. Although he is now out of detention, he continues to be in deportation proceedings. The local ICE Field Office in Chicago has already denied his request to stop his deportation, and could order his detention and deportation at any time.
Felipe is a father of 2 children who have suffered tremendously since his detention. His youngest son was also born with clef lip, a condition which requires multiple surgeries and visits to the doctor. Felipe has been crucial in supporting him, and the rest of his family emotionally and financially.
He has lived in the US for the last 17 years, and has been an active member of the labor rights advocacy organization Chicago Community and Workers Rights. Recently, he also joined the campaign #1of11million, urging for policy changes that would benefit immigrant families like his. As part of this campaign, he has submitted an application for deferred action in Washington D.C., to which he still awaits response.
Since his release Felipe was contacted by the Illinois Secretary of State assuring him that his detention was a mistake, and that they were on his side. Based on Felipe’s experience, the Illinois Secretary of State has revised its procedure to prevent this situation from happening again, and harming more immigrant families.
Despite the many factors in favor of stopping Felipe’s deportation, ICE is focusing on a prior deportation in 1999. At the time, Felipe was on a bus towards Michigan, when immigration officials boarded the vehicle looking for undocumented immigrants and detained him. He never received follow-up documents, but was ordered deported. Felipe was also convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol 9 years ago. He successfully finished his 1-year probation, attended classes, and has since realized his mistake. He has had no other charges since then, and has not repeated the offense in almost 10 years.
Director Ricardo Wong
Chicago Field Office
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Dear Director Wong,
I write to you as a concerned member of the community regarding the deportation of Mr. Felipe Diosdado-Arellano (A 078 144 677) who was recently denied a stay of removal from your office. I urge you to consider all of the evidence in his case, including the many positive factors and community support he has, and grant his request to stop his deportation.
Mr. Diosdado is the primary wage-earner for his family. He has a long-time partner, Evangelina, and two U.S. citizen children. He has a single misdemeanor conviction from almost ten years ago. Mr. Diosdado is hardworking family man, and does not pose a danger to society. In fact, he is described as a dedicated father who works hard to support his children. Evangelina is a stay-at-home mom who cares for her two young children. Mr. Diosdado is the primary wage-earner for his family. In addition, Mr. Diosdado is from the state of Michoacan. Michoacan is plagued by violence and lawlessness. Mr. Diosdado and his family will be targeted if they are forced to go to Mexico.
In addition, the circumstances of Mr. Diosdado’s encounter with immigration authorities support a grant of a stay of removal in this case. Mr. Diosdado was turned over to immigration authorities while applying for a temporary driver’s licenses (TVDL) at the Illinois Secretary of State’s office. The officer who turned Mr. Diosdado’ over to immigration was not acting according to their policies. The state of Illinois created the TVDL program to ensure that undocumented immigrants had access to car insurance and were registered and authorized to drive. Publicity regarding Mr. Diosdado’s unfortunate situation, would undermine the state of Illinois’s TVDL program. Thus, in addition to the strong humanitarian factors in this case, it is not in the public’s interest for Mr. Diosdado to be removed to Mexico.
For these reasons, I fully support Mr. Diosdado’s request to stop his deportation and urge to use prosecutorial discretion in his case.
Thank you,
Deputy Director Daniel Ragsdale
Immigration and Custom Enforcement
Deputy Director Ragsdale,
I write to you as a concerned member of the community regarding the deportation of Mr. Felipe Diosdado-Arellano (A 078 144 677) who was recently denied a stay of removal from the Chicago Field office, and has a pending deferred action request at ICE Headquarters. I am writing in support of reviewing the Chicago ICE Field Office decision, and using prosecutorial discretion to grant Mr. Diosdado deferred action in his case.
Mr. Diosdado is the primary wage-earner for his family. He has a long-time partner, Evangelina, and two U.S. citizen children. He has a single misdemeanor conviction from almost ten years ago. Mr. Diosdado is hardworking family man, and does not pose a danger to society. In fact, he is described as a dedicated father who works hard to support his children. Evangelina is a stay-at-home mom who cares for her two young children. Mr. Diosdado is the primary wage-earner for his family. In addition, Mr. Diosdado is from the state of Michoacan. Michoacan is plagued by violence and lawlessness. Mr. Diosdado and his family will be targeted if they are forced to go to Mexico.
In addition, the circumstances of Mr. Diosdado’s encounter with immigration authorities support a grant of a stay of removal in this case. Mr. Diosdado was turned over to immigration authorities while applying for a temporary driver’s licenses (TVDL) at the Illinois Secretary of State’s office. The officer who turned Mr. Diosdado’ over to immigration was not acting according to their policies. The state of Illinois created the TVDL program to ensure that undocumented immigrants had access to car insurance and were registered and authorized to drive. Publicity regarding Mr. Diosdado’s unfortunate situation, would undermine the state of Illinois’s TVDL program. Thus, in addition to the strong humanitarian factors in this case, it is not in the public’s interest for Mr. Diosdado to be removed to Mexico.
For these reasons, I fully support Mr. Diosdado’s request to stop his deportation and urge to ICE Headquarters to review the decision to deny him a stay of removal, and use prosecutorial discretion to grant him deferred action in his case.
Thank you,
Categories: Victories