Pastor Max’s Attorney Files Emergency Motion to Reopen Deportation Case, Hundreds Rally in Iowa City for His Release
Yesterday, ahead of an Iowa City rally that drew hundreds of supporters, Pastor Max Villatoro’s new immigration lawyers, David Wolfe Leopold and Associates, filed an emergency motion to reopen his deportation case with the Board of Immigration Appeals.
News of Leopold’s emergency motion preceded a youth-led rally entitled, “March with Max’s Family,” that drew hundreds of supporters to Iowa City. The event, which received widespreadattention, was also featured as the top news story on Univisión’s evening broadcast—the leading Spanish language news network for the Latino community.
Pastor Max has been detained in various immigration centers since last week, moved from his home in Iowa to Louisiana, and faces imminent deportation to his native Honduras—a country where a number of his relatives have fallen victim to murder, assault and threats of violence. With Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seemingly committed to carrying out Max’s deportation, Leopold was forced to file an emergency motion in pursuit of his client’s liberty and to protect his life.
Said Attorney David Leopold, “If Pastor Max Villatoro is deported to Honduras not only will his family, church, and community be devastated, but his life will literally be in danger. Pastor Max’s cousin was murdered, and his nephew was shot. His nephew fled to the United States because of these horrific abuses. I filed this emergency motion because Max’s deportation is imminent and I cannot stand by and watch the Government deport a man to his death.”
News articles (in Spanish) and information about the Villatoro family’s persecution in Honduras is available to news media upon request.
Last night’s rally follows a several weeks of community outcry against Pastor Max’s deportation. Pastor Max’s wife Gloria and four U.S. citizen children have been joined by numerous religious leaders, Iowa residents, and advocates from across the country in calling on ICE to stop this unjust deportation. And more than 40,000 individuals have taken action on Max’s behalf.
“Pastor Max is not, in any way, a priority for deportation. He is not a threat to public safety or security, a factor outlined in the new DHS priorities memo. In fact, it’s Max who faces a threat to his security if deported to a country mired in violence. What kind of system puts a dedicated father of four U.S. citizens and the husband of a DACA-mented wife on a merciless conveyor belt of deportation? This is a tragedy waiting to happen,” Leopold added.
RESOURCES:
- View tweets and photos from last night’s rally here.
- News coverage of last night’s rally: Univisión, the Des Moines Register, and KCRG-TV
