Hawaii coffee farmer wins last-minute stay of deportation, but his fight isn't over just yet

Daily Kos Staff

Friday June 09, 2017 · 8:45 AM PDT

2017/06/09 · 08:45

Screen_Shot_2017-06-09_at_8.35.02_AM.png — Andres Magana Ortiz

The Hawaiian coffee farmer who was the subject of a “remarkable” concurrence from a federal judge last month—“the government’s decision to remove [Andres] Magana Ortiz shows that even the ‘good hombres’ are not safe”—has won a last-minute reprieve from deportation.

Despite being a a well-respected businessman, taxpayer, and dad of three U.S. citizens, ICE ordered Magana Ortiz to leave after nearly three decades in the U.S. According to NBC News, Magana Ortiz had already boarded a plane to Honolulu to turn himself in to federal immigration agents when he found out he was given an additional 30 days in the country to attempt to sort out his legal status through a family petition, something he has been attempting to do for a year now.

It’s a momentary relief for Magana Ortiz and his family, but their fight isn’t over just yet:

"This is a temporary reprieve as the Department of Homeland Security considers Mr. Magana Ortiz’s wife’s Petition for Alien Relative," said Hawaii Sen. Mazie K. Hirono in a statement.

“I call on the Department of Homeland Security to process the Magana Ortiz family’s application to bring Andres out of the shadows as quickly as possible to keep Andres together with his wife and kids,” she said.

Magana Ortiz was relieved to hear he'd have a few more weeks with this family.

"All I can say is that I'm pretty happy," he said after the hearing. "It was very stressful. But I got a little bit of relief."

Judge Stephen Reinhardt’s passionate concurrence defending Magana Ortiz went viral last month, with the federal judge rebuking Donald Trump and his administration for attempting to deport the dad despite his ongoing effort to gain legal status through his family members.

“It has been over a year since his wife, Brenda, submitted her application to have Magana Ortiz deemed her immediate relative,” wrote Judge Reinhardt, who did not have the authority to grant him a stay of deportation. “This August, his eldest daughter, Victoria, will turn 21, and will also be able to file an application for her father.” But instead, the government “has ordered him deported immediately”:

President Trump has claimed that his immigration policies would target the“bad hombres.” The government’s decision to remove Magana Ortiz shows that even the “good hombres” are not safe. Magana Ortiz is by all accounts a pillar of his community and a devoted father and husband. It is difficult to see how the government’s decision to expel him is consistent with the President’s promise of an immigration system with “a lot of heart.” I find no such compassion in the government’s choice to deport Magana Ortiz.

With Magana Ortiz’s deportation imminent—and the Trump administration still claiming they are only targeting “bad hombres” for arrest and deportation, despite something called “facts” showing otherwise—Hawaii’s entire congressional delegation penned a joint letter urging DHS Sec. John Kelly to not banish the father to a country he has not been to since he was 15:

“Mr. Magana Ortiz is an upstanding member of our community and does not belong in the category of dangerous individuals who should be prioritized for deportation, “ wrote Hawaii Senators Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono along with Reps. Tulsi Gabbard and Colleen Hanabusa. "The Department has the power to keep this family together, or break this family apart."

“Secretary Kelly, I renew our call once more: Let Andres stay in our country,” said Sen. Hirono in a floor speech. “Let his children have a father present and active in their lives. It’s not too late to keep this family together.”

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