CT Legislators Support Father Of 2 Facing Deportation

NEW FAIRFIELD, CT — After living in America since 2004, Joel Colindrés is facing deportation in a little over a week unless he is allowed by the government to stay. On July 20, he was given 28 days to leave the country due to a deportation order he was given as the result of a paperwork mix-up.

While he is still awaiting word on whether he can remain in America long enough to have his request for a waiver from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (ICE) approved, Colindrés has been given the support of several Connecticut government officials.

Colindrés and his wife, Samantha, held a press conference at their house Monday, where they were joined by Senator Richard Blumenthal (Democrat-Connecticut) and Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (Democrat-Connecticut), according to the Save Joel Colindrés Facebook page. Representatives from the office of Senator Chris Murphy (Democrat-Connecticut) were also in attendance.

See also: Because ICE Made A Typo, These Kids Will Lose Their Dad In Just Days

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During the event, both Blumenthal and Etsy expressed a desire for Colindrés to remain in the country with his American wife and two young children and be given the chance to gain citizenship.

“My office has been in close contact with the Colindrés family and their attorney to support them during this heartbreaking ordeal," Blumenthal said in a statement emailed to Patch. "Yet again, the Trump administration is seeking to separate a hardworking father from his U.S. citizen children; a law-abiding man who has lived here dutifully reporting to ICE each year while contributing to his community and raising his beautiful family."

Blumenthal further took issue with the fact that ICE would only give Colindrés 28-days’ notice to leave his wife and children, offering "next to no time" to pursue legal remedies.

"ICE approved Samantha Colindrés’ application to sponsor her husband’s visa but is now deporting him before he can proceed through the process for obtaining legal status pursuant to that approved sponsorship," Blumenthal said. "ICE should allow Mr. Colindrés to follow through on that sponsorship rather than permanently upending this family’s life."

Blumenthal also said Colindrés' situation is the direct result of the Trump administration’s decision to "remove all reason and rationality" from its immigration policies.

"I continue to implore the President to end this nightmare," Blumenthal said, "and commit to true, bipartisan discussions to reform this broken immigration system in a way that respects our fundamental American values and morals.”

Murphy previously expressed his support of the family and their efforts to keep Colindrés in the country in a statement emailed to Patch.

“My office has been in close contact with Joel, Samantha, and their attorney, and we are actively working with ICE to pursue every option," Murphy said. "As a father of two young kids, I can only imagine the pain Joel is going through right now at the thought of having to leave his 6-year-old son Preston and 2-year-old daughter Lila."

Murphy also said he felt the country's "limited law enforcement resources" should instead go to deporting "dangerous criminals” rather than law-abiding family men like Colindrés.

In a response previously sent to Patch regarding Colindrés' case, ICE issued the following statement:

"Joel [Colindrés], an illegally present citizen of Guatemala, was issued a final order of removal by a federal immigration judge in 2004. Since then he has sought relief from removal via several court actions and has been denied each. On July 20, during a routine check-in, ICE chose not to take [Colindrés] into custody and instead placed him in a GPS monitoring program. He was instructed to report back to ICE with an itinerary as proof he intends to comply with his removal order."

For more information and to support the Colindrés family, check the Save Joel Colindrés Facebook page.

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