A popular McDonald’s manager in Oceanside was arrested by the United States Immigration and Customs Control Service (ICE) and faces deportation after attending a scheduled audience on its case of political asylum, according to published reports.
Christian Rodríguez, a 51 -year -old Venezuelan, was arrested on August 21 by ICE after a routine audience on his immigration case in a Bethpage immigration office, confirmed the ICE agency.
According to his co -workers, Rodríguez believed to be doing everything correctly in his case of immigration, he believed that he would complete the next step of his application that Thursday and that he has a valid social security number and a work visa, Newsday reported.
His teammates described his arrest as “very bad”, stating that he was an endeavored worker who reached success after arriving in the United States 10 years ago, despite knowing little English, according to reports.
Resident of Baldwin, Rodríguez amounted to a manager position in an McDonald’s of Oceanside, in Atlantic Avenue. There has been a family face for 5 years, and now partners and customers are missing.
On August 21, Rodríguez sent a text message to a co -worker saying that he had been unexpectedly arrested for ICE after his political asylum audience and taken to Central Islip, where, as immigration lawyers reported, ICE has been taking immigrants to the Federal Court.
Since then, Rodríguez has not communicated with his co -workers, although the reports indicate that he is detained somewhere in New York.
According to his companions, he has no family in the country. Last week a notification of appearance was issued, which indicates that it must appear before an immigration judge on October 27 to demonstrate why it should be allowed to remain in the country, according to published reports.
Rodríguez initially arrived in the US in December 2015 with a tourist visa that won in June 2016. However, he requested political asylum, claiming that he would be harmed if he returned to Venezuela, according to reports.
Normally, people requesting asylum can remain in the country while their case is processed. The fact that he was arrested when he appears to this type of hearing is unusual, according to the immigration lawyer of Nassau County, George Terezakis.
“Normally, (ICE) would not stop anyone there,” Terezakis said about Bethpage’s office where Rodriguez was arrested.
Terezakis said that in recent months there have been significant changes in the way in which the arrests and procedures of ICE have been carried out. Previously, he said that people were less likely to be arrested or arrested for prolonged periods and that the bond for those arrested had decreased.
“Historically, default posture has been that people have the right to freedom, which their freedom means something,” said Terezakis. “Unless it was shown that the person represented a danger to the community or risk of escape, the default position was that some kind of reasonable bail would be imposed or that it would be released without bail.”
“But now the default posture is to retain everyone, and we retain them as long as possible, and do not consent to the bond, even if they have been here for a long time or have a family to maintain,” he continued.
Terezakis said he believes that ICE tries to intimidate people and that the lack of bonds for those who are arrested is remarkable. Previously, he had said that immigration lawyers, prosecutors and judges would work together to set the bonds, a process that is no longer being carried out.
“The change has been to retain everyone and not release them on bail or request any bond,” said Terezakis. “It seems very clear that they only try to force people to renounce their right to a hearing before a judge. They try to deprive them of their right to a hearing, saying that they do not have the right to be able to retain them and press them so that they simply give up their rights.”
The arrest of Rodríguez and his possible deportation occur during the immigration offensive of President Donald Trump, who has revoked the temporal protection status (TPS) for Venezuelans and has threatened it for other groups, including Haitians.
The offensive has strongly affected Long Island communities in recent months. In June, ICE agents arrested Fernando Mejía, manager of Schmear Bagel & Cafe in Port Washington, and in July Sara Lizeth López García, an outstanding student of Suffolk County Community College.
The East Meadow prison of the Nassau County, in Long Island, has also kept ICE detained by virtue of an agreement between the county executive, Republican Bruce Blakeman, and the agency.
Almost 200,000 people have been deported nationwide since Trump took office.
