Father of 3, who reported to immigration office in San Francisco, taken into ICE custody
Bay Area father who was brought to U.S. as teen, now in ICE custody facing deportation
The family of Miguel Angel Lopez Luvian, 47, says he has no criminal record and had been trying to gain legal status for 24 years, but was picked up by ICE agents when he reported for his regular immigration status update in San Francisco last week. Now, his wife says he has been moved to a detention center 250 miles away in McFarland, just north of Bakersfield.
LIVERMORE, Calif. - Rosa Lopez began to cry as she recalled the phone call from her husband, Miguel Angel Lopez Luvian, 47, who told her that he had been taken into custody by ICE agents when he reported for a routine check-in at the immigration office in San Francisco.
"He called me and he told me to contact his lawyer because he was being detained. And I was like, you're lying, right? And he was like "no," Lopez said. "And I was like, ‘Miguel, oh my god.' And then he didn't answer his phone anymore."
Rosa Lopez says she was left there alone outside the immigration office on Tuesday, May 27th, and has only been able to speak to her husband in-person once since then.
Miguel's Background
Rosa Lopez says she and her husband Miguel have known each other since they were teenagers and got married in 2001. She is a U.S. citizen and says Miguel was brought to the U.S. by his parents from Mexico City when he was 18-years-old, without documents.
When they got married, they tried to get him a green card, but she says the application was rejected and although he received a residence card in court, the government later revoked it.
Since then, they have been fighting to get him legal status so he can stay with their three children and young grandchild.
Rosa says her husband is the family's sole provider, working at a winery, and she says he has no criminal record.
"I know he's done everything the right way, paid his taxes. He's worked. He's had no problems with the police. Yes, he made the mistake of crossing the border and claiming to be a U.S. citizen. He was 18. I mean, what 18-year-old knows? And it's like he said, 'It wasn't my choice. I was brought here because my parents brought me, not because I decided to come.'"
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The Legal Battle
Lopez's attorney, Saad Ahmad of Fremont, says it is a tragedy that Lopez is being detained, because Lopez has an appeal pending in U.S. District Court, and for decades Lopez has been working to follow all the proper procedures and legal avenues.
"When we went to the 9th Circuit Court earlier, they said they lacked authority over this issue. And then the Supreme Court refused to hear it. So, basically, what we are doing is we are going to the District Court because we feel there has to be an avenue. There has to be a forum where Mr. Lopez can seek review of this decision, because it will raise serious constitutional issues that someone could be removed from the country without having his case heard.
Bill Hing, a professor of Law and Migration Studies at the University of San Francisco, says right now, there are broad concerns and uncertainty about the legality of some immigration policies and the ability of the federal government to deport migrants without a hearing.
"So far the Supreme Court, on the few cases that it's had already, they've at least stood behind the process, that people do have a right to notice and a right to be heard. And we have yet to see whether or not the Supreme Court is going to uphold some of these new laws that they're trying to use," Hing said.
"The thing to keep an eye on is process. Is the Court allowing people to be heard, or are they saying the administration doesn't have to give people hearings or notice?" Hing said.
Hing says if Lopez's case involved local law enforcement, there could be a challenge on sanctuary policy grounds. Since he was at an immigration office, however, legal recourse is limited because ICE has jurisdiction.
Rosa Lopez says her husband has been moved to a detention center in McFarland, about 250 miles from the Bay Area, north of Bakersfield, California. She says he told her that some of the people detained at the facility have been there for months and still have not been able to have a hearing.
Statement from ICE
What they're saying:
ICE said in a statement on Tuesday that it could not provide information on Lopez's case but, "any noncitizen in the US without legal status to be in the US, is subject to removal. This includes those that are appealing their illegal status."