CT Father Given Second Deportation Date 3 Days After Christmas

NEW FAIRFIELD, CT — For Christmas this year, Joel Colindrés was told for the second time he had less than a month to leave the country. After previously being granted a stay of deportation in August, minutes before boarding a flight back to Guatemala, the Colindrés family must once again fight to #savejoelcolindres before he is deported on Jan. 31.

The news was shared to the Save Joel Colindrés Facebook page on Sunday by Colindrés' wife, Samantha, who shared the devastation she and her husband felt after learning they would now have to endure a second uphill battle.

"Three days after Christmas, three days before the New Year, ICE decided Joel is a priority and issued a deportation date again," Samantha Colindrés said on Facebook, "giving us just 30 days again to relive the hell we suffered through just four months ago. I can't believe we have to endure this again."

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

• Connecticut Father Granted Stay After Facing Deportation, Receives News At Airport

For those unfamiliar, the Colindrés family faced a similar situation in July when Colindrés was told he had 28 days to leave his job, home and two young children and move back to Guatemala as the result of a paperwork mix-up.

Colindrés has lived in America since 2004 after coming in through Texas via a legal provisional waiver. He owns a home, paid taxes for every year he's been here (with a Taxpayer Identification Number) and is married with two children to an American citizen.

The family's attorney, Erin O'Neil Baker, previously told Patch that Colindrés has been following the necessary steps to become an American citizen, until Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials spelled his name wrong on a document.

Due to the error, the attorney said, Colindrés never received an important letter — and missed a court date as a result. He was then issued a removal order in 2004, but continued to send necessary documents and check in regularly with ICE agents, as his waiver required, and was continuously working to be granted citizenship.

Those dreams almost came crumbling down in August when the family arrived at the airport to bid Colindrés farewell as he prepared to board a plane to Guatemala, until he received a call at the last minute informing him he had been granted a verbal stay of deportation.

This allowed Colindrés to remain in the country while the court considered new evidence in his case. Samantha Colindrés said the news was such a shock that she initially thought her husband was kidding when she told him the news.

"It just didn’t seem real," Colindrés said in an interview with Patch. “I couldn’t initially react, because my kids were around me. My six-year-old son saw me get a little upset, and he still remembers that airport day as the worst day of his life. We had to really hold it in the entire day until they went to bed. I don’t think we could even wrap our heads around it for the first couple days.”

Samantha Colindrés said the couple was in the process of getting a crucial document ruled on after his case was transferred to a fifth circuit court in Texas. Then ICE intervened.

"The process that all sides say is our answer to save him, the 212, has not been ruled on yet," Samantha Colindrés said. "It is their system that is taking so long to decide on our waiver, then punishing us with a deportation date as our time is up...again. How can this be?"

Samantha Colindrés said the couple recently met with their lawyer, who is putting processes in motion for them to proceed. They also have been in contact with Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, as well as Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty.

"All three are behind us and they’re really instrumental in this whole process," Samantha Colindrés said. "Our lawyer said it doesn’t feel like a lot of time, but between now and the 31st is a lot of time to get something in motion and hopefully get the answers we want at the end of the day.”

Those who wish to help #savejoelcolindres are asked to sign the couple's updated petition. Those who wish to help the family with legal fees and for preparations of Colindrés' possible departure can also donate to the couple's GoFundMe page.

Check the Save Joel Colindrés Facebook page for more information and updates.

Image courtesy Samantha Colindrés