US government insists on deporting Pedro Hernandez – loving father of US citizens, caregiver to a disabled man, despite damage to family and society
Cleveland, OH – In a cruel and callous decision, the US government has refused to grant Pedro Hernandez Ramirez another “stay” of deportation, which would have allowed him to remain in Elyria to care for his family. Pedro is scheduled for deportation from Cleveland-Hopkins Airport today.
Last night, two heartbreaking stories ran on local TV, chronicling the family’s emotions at this difficult time and their plea for someone within the government to reverse this unjust decision before it’s too late.
Watch these clips from Fox 8 and WKYC. Do not look away. It’s all of our duty as Americans to know what is happening in our country, in our name.
According to Pedro’s lawyer, David Leopold,
In what world does separating a devoted husband, father, and caretaker from his son, who suffers from cerebral palsy, make sense? Pedro Hernandez has been playing by the rules, trying to do it the right way and painstakingly doing everything that ICE has told him. Now, ICE up and decides to deport him, and for what reason?
Trump tells the American people he’s getting rid of the ‘bad hombres,’ but ICE has focused on Pedro, who takes care of his severely disabled step-son and loves his family. To remove this man from his home is an absolute abomination.
Today ICE is destroying yet another American family. How the deportation of Pedro Hernandez serves anyone’s national agenda is beyond me. It puts Juan Pino – who suffers from cerebral palsy and mental disabilities – at risk of going into a taxpayer-funded facility.
I ask President Trump and his ICE Deportation Force, if this case doesn’t merit a reprieve, a show of human compassion and kindness, what case does?
Lynn Tramonte, Director of America’s Voice – Ohio, said:
For years, we fought alongside the Hernandez family for a simple goal: to keep them united at home. They work as a unit. Seleste and Pedro are a team: she is the voice, and he is the reason. They both are the hearts. They have a language for communicating with Juan Pino, their son with severe intellectual disabilities, that only the family understands. Pedro is Juan’s hero. And nine-year-old Luis – he’s a kind warrior, like his parents. How do you tell a nine-year-old kid that he has to become a man without the loving father he’s always known by his side?
There are so many broken families already, it’s obscene that our government is willfully breaking up others. There is no consideration at all in these deportation decisions. It’s mass deportation at all costs, human and financial.
ICE agents actually told Seleste to stop bringing Juan to Pedro’s check-in appointments. I guess they didn’t want to see what they were doing to this family. Well guess what? They have to see. They have to look. They have to know. They are breaking hearts and destroying lives.
And the rest of the country needs to know as well – this is what the Trump Administration is doing, with our tax dollars and in our name. Be outraged, and do something about it.
Background
Pedro Hernandez Ramirez is the husband of US citizen Seleste Wisniewski and the father of four citizens, including nine year-old Luis who idolizes his dad. Pedro is the primary caretaker of their eldest son, Juan, who is wheelchair-bound with cerebral palsy and several intellectual disabilities. Pedro is the only one in the household who can lift Juan in and out of his wheelchair.
Pedro had been granted stays of deportation in the past, given his special and singular role within the family. This time around, though, the government is refusing to exercise its authority and allow Pedro to remain in the United States.
Pedro has a valid work permit and an approved I-130 petition, which is the first step to a green card. He’s done everything possible to try to be here legally, but has run up against limitations in the law. The only option for him had been regular approvals of a deportation stay by the local ICE office. This week, though, that final option was denied through a heartless, bureaucratic decision.
Cleveland Bishop Nelson Perez has been a passionate advocate for the family and called on the US Government to stop this deportation,
For complete coverage of Pedro Hernandez’s deportation battles, see the America’s Voice website.
America’s Voice – Ohio – Harnessing the power of Ohio voices and Ohio values to win
common sense immigration reform
@tramontela @mhildreth @AmericasVoice
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