Campaign Action
It’ll soon be two weeks since a federal judge slammed Pablo Villavicencio’s imminent deportation to a screeching halt, yet the husband and dad of two U.S. citizens remains locked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). His family wants him back home, and now. In a press conference earlier this week, Legal Aid Society and Villavicencio’s wife, Sandra, filed a formal request calling for his release:
Jennifer Williams, deputy attorney in charge of the immigration law unit at the Legal Aid Society, also said that her client's detention is "unwarranted" until the circumstances surrounding his arrest are clear.
Villavicencio has been detained since June 1, when he made a pizza delivery to a military base in Brooklyn, New York, only to get turned over to federal immigration agents, despite having no criminal record. While federal Judge Alison Nathan’s order keeps him here through next month, he’s still in detention, and his kids ask for him constantly.
"Let him go back to his daughters and me," his wife, Sandra Chica, said during the press conference, her children with her. "Every day my daughters ask, ‘Why is daddy not with us?’ I demand ICE to do the right thing."
Villavicencio should never have been put in this situation in the first place—as the husband of a U.S. citizen, he’s actually in the process of adjusting his legal status. But it’s not just immigration agents who have been emboldened, it’s also people who have absolutely nothing to do with federal immigration enforcement.
According to reports, Villavicencio had made deliveries to the base before without any issue. But something was different this time, and advocates are still trying to get answers. ”It is absolutely disgusting,” said Murad Awawdeh of the New York Immigration Coalition, “when the strongest military in the world uses its power to punch down, by going after pizza delivery workers.”
His supporters, who include Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Representatives Hakeem Jeffries, Kathleen Rice and Nydia Velázquez of New York, continue to rally for his release, and advocates continue to boost a petition calling for his freedom, which is available to sign here. But it’s his youngest supporters who have made the most passionate call for his freedom.
"Daddy,” his 3-year-old daughter, Luciana, said at the press conference, “I hope that angels take care of you and that you are well and that nothing bad happens over there."