Campaign Action
Federal Judge Alison Nathan has temporarily halted the imminent deportation of Pablo Villavicencio, a pizza delivery man who was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after taking an order to a military base in Brooklyn, New York. The father of two U.S. citizens faced deportation as early as Monday, despite having no criminal record:
In a federal lawsuit, Mr. Villavicencio’s lawyers claimed that he was a victim of racial profiling at the Army base and that the detention violated his constitutional rights. Mr. Villavicencio was in the process of applying to become a legal permanent resident, the suit said, and he has not been able to present evidence in his pending application.
Villavicencio’s attorneys filed the emergency petition Friday night, after “they learned that the commissary account for Mr. Villavicencio was suddenly cleared, which is usually a precursor to immediate deportation.” But while the judge’s order keeps him here for at least another month, he hasn’t been released from detention so far.
“Although we are disappointed that Pablo will remained detained,” said Legal Aid’s Gregory Copeland, “today’s stay is a victory for him and his family, and also for due process and the fair administration of justice. This decision is also a reminder that the judiciary can still serve as a powerful check when other branches of government make hasty, cruel and reckless decisions.” Villavicencio’s arrest is also a reminder of the cruel lengths ICE and its enablers have gone to in order to fulfill Donald Trump’s racist, mass deportation vision.
Villavicencio was turned over to deportation agents by military officers after a background check revealed he had an active ICE warrant. Villavicencio had presented a valid municipal ID but military officers demanded more, telling him to proceed into the base to get a daily visitor pass. But Villavicencio’s advocates say he made several deliveries to the base in the past without any problem:
In an interview Sunday, Copeland told CNN that Villavicencio had been to the military base "many times" in the past to make similar deliveries. He'd been there enough, Copeland said, that he was familiar with the facility's personnel.
In fact, Copeland claims that in the midst of being detained on June 1, Villavicencio called a high-ranking sergeant at the base for help. According to Copeland, the sergeant, who was not named, unsuccessfully tried to intervene.
There were also "conflicting reports," Copeland said, about whether Villavicencio had actually formally consented to a background check. Copeland called for an investigation into the incident, and reiterated that Villavicencio does not have a criminal record.
For now, at least, he stays, and his advocates continue to boost a petition calling for his release. In a press conference featuring community leaders including Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and City Councilmember Justin Brannan, Villavicencio’s wife said that “there are not words that can describe the drama that my daughters and I are living. In one moment, life changed for us. All I ask now is: do not deport my husband. Give him a chance”:
… The swiftness of the immigration agency’s action was deeply unsettling for his wife, Sandra Chica, and their children and outraged Democratic lawmakers and officials. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York included a letter in the lawsuit supporting Mr. Villavicencio, as did Representatives Hakeem Jeffries, Kathleen Rice and Nydia M. Velázquez.
”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. Immigrant New Yorkers like Pablo provide for their families by working hard and making sacrifices. They shouldn’t be ripped from their families, their communities, or the country that they now call home.”
Advocates are also criticizing the military base’s move, with Borough President Adams saying that “we’ve always had a very good relationship with the Fort Hamilton Army Base; they’re a very vital part of our community.” According to The Washington Post, when Sandra went to the base to pick up her husband’s car, “she learned soldiers had still eaten the pasta.”