Delegation for Romulo Avelica to Demand His Release from ICE & Request Review of Case by Board of Immigration Appeals

WHAT: A delegation to support the release of Avelica-Gonzalez, including his family and immigration attorneys, will provide an update about the case with a call to action. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) again threatens deportation for Romulo, one week before ICE is slated to review Mr. Avelica’s stay request. Attorneys for Romulo Avelica will be available for a limited time to answer questions at the conclusion of the conference.
WHEN: Tuesday, August 1, 2017 at 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: Pershing Square, 532 S Olive St, Los Angeles, CA 90013
WHO: Family members and attorneys of Romulo Avelica and representatives of Los Angeles schools, churches, and labor communities.
VISUALS: Banners and signs held by family and supporters – attorneys, clergy, educators, students, families.

LOS ANGELES, CA – More than five months after ICE arrested Romulo Avelica while he was dropping his daughters off at school, ICE has said that it will review his stay request on Monday, August 7th, and is again threatening to deport him imminently. Mr. Avelica’s lawyers, alongside a delegation of clergy, educators, students, families and elected officials, will provide an update on his case and demand that ICE stay his deportation, release him from detention, and request that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) also review his case.

Mr. Avelica’s February 28th arrest was video-taped by his then 12 year-old daughter, Fatima Avelica and has served as an embodiment of the painful reality of Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda. Romulo, a father of four U.S. citizen children, who was a cook at the time of his arrest, has lived in L.A. for nearly thirty years. Dozens of elected officials, from Capitol Hill to L.A. City Hall, and other distinct community leaders have rallied around him and his family, calling for Mr. Avelica’s release and a stay of his deportation. “Mr. Avelica should be eligible for a review of his immigration case by the BIA and a U visa for victims of certain crimes,” says Alan Diamante, Immigration Attorney for Mr. Avelica.

ICE has announced it will review Mr. Avelica’s request for a stay on August 7th, and otherwise may seem to deport him despite his eligibility for immigration relief. “Trump’s xenophobic agenda is designed to tear apart families both emotionally and physically; and further intimidate and frighten undocumented immigrants to the point of self-deportation,” affirms Diamante. “Mr. Avelica and his family have resisted that intimidation; standing up for themselves and for other immigrants across the country, who also face the threat of deportation.”

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