The path to becoming a U.S. citizen often takes years of waiting and several appointments at immigration offices. But some South Florida immigrants are afraid those appointments are setting them up to be taken from their families. Heather Walker has this 7Investigates.
Jessica Aguilar and her husband Josue have been together for five years. They have been trying to legalize his status, but it hasn’t been easy.
Jessica Rodriguez-Aguilar: “Why is it that we’re getting punished for trying to do the right thing, for trying to legalize in this country?”
Jessica said Josue came to South Florida from Honduras by himself 12 years ago when he was 14. He applied for asylum status, but was denied because of insufficient evidence.
Jessica Rodriguez-Aguilar: “So, during the time that his case was kind of ongoing, he got a temporary work permit and a social security number.”
He appealed the decision, and while he waited, he attended high school and got a job. A deportation order was issued after he graduated in 2018. It was never enforced– until now.
Josue Aguilar: “I’m just a little bit scared because I don’t know what’s gonna happen.”
Jessica is a U.S. citizen. When she and Josue got married in 2022, they filed an application so she could sponsor her husband for a green card. That would allow him to live and work in the U.S. permanently. Their first appointment was last month.
Jessica Rodriguez-Aguilar: “And we actually got approved on the spot, which I was told is kind of rare and right after that, an officer came into the room, and asked me to step out.”
After she left, Josue was detained by ICE agents.
Josue Aguilar: “They just ask me for my name and then I told them my name and they told me ‘You’re under arrest.’ Honestly, I don’t remember anything because my brain was, you know”
Even though Josue had the 2018 deportation order, he was never a target for ICE agents. Immigration attorney Valerie Crespo said cases like his were not a priority back then because he didn’t have a criminal record.
Valerie Crespo: “So the previous administration didn’t focus on complying with the deportation orders necessarily if they weren’t criminals.”
But the Trump administration is, and illegal immigrants with no criminal records are being locked up when they visit the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, otherwise known as USCIS.
Valerie Crespo: “So I’ve seen that everyone that has a deportation order and go to the USCIS appointments are being detained. They have ICE officers inside the USCIS building like already waiting for immigrants that have deportation orders.”
Crespo said many of her clients have a tough decision to make if they want to continue trying to get legal status. They can go to their appointments and risk being detained or skip them and take their chances.
Valerie Crespo: “So we’re advising our clients, like ‘I cannot advise you against the law, so you have an appointment, you should comply with it.’ They’re like, ‘Am I going to pay for a process that will eventually deport me anyways?’”
Josue was taken from the immigration services center to Krome Detention Center in Miami-Dade. He was transferred four times.
Josue Aguilar: “They moved me to so many places that it was super hard for me.”
Josue was deported to Honduras a month later.
Jessica is now with him. The couple is staying with a family member while they file all the paperwork needed for Josue to enter the U.S. legally. They know it could take a long time.
Jessica Rodriguez-Aguilar: “We just have to wait.”
They know it won’t be easy, but they are willing to wait as long as it takes to bring Josue back to his family in South Florida.
Heather Walker, 7News
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