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A Livermore father of three was deported to Mexico last week following his detainment at an immigration detention center after being arrested by federal agents while appearing for a legal appointment as part of his years-long attempt to gain permanent residency.
Miguel Lopez was removed from the U.S. some time during the overnight span from June 6 to June 7, just hours before a United States District Court granted his temporary stay in the country.
Although Miguel Lopez is now in Mexico City, both he and wife Rosa Lopez are hopeful that he may return to the U.S. following his June 24 court date.
“I’m stressed. Seeing my wife crying all day makes me feel bad. I’m trying to be strong, but on the inside I’m struggling,” Miguel Lopez told Livermore Vine by phone on Friday.
Originally from Mexico, Miguel Lopez lived in Livermore with his wife and their three children — all of whom are U.S. citizens.
In total, he has lived in the U.S. for 27 years, worked and paid taxes for almost all that time and does not have a criminal record, according to a June 7 court document for his temporary stay. Over the course of almost two decades, he has attempted to gain immigration status.
“He embodies the spirit of citizenship,” the document states.
While attending a routine check-in at a San Francisco immigration office May 27, he was detained by immigration officials, Rosa Lopez said. The court case states that U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement detained Miguel Lopez on June 3.
“I’ve been fighting my case for a long time, already. I’ve been going to immigration for 17 years to report,” Miguel Lopez said. “This last time, I was detained. I wasn’t expecting that.”
He was then transported to Golden State Annex, an ICE detention facility in McFarland.
In response to Miguel Lopez’s detainment, community organizers held a peaceful rally called “Bring Miguel Home” on June 4 at the Livermorium Plaza.
Also, one of his son’s teachers started a GoFundMe page for the family. As of Sunday, donations totaled more than $44,000 from nearly 700 contributions. These funds are slated to help the family pay for legal fees and Miguel’s needs in Mexico, organizer Laura Bertoli wrote on the fundraiser page.
In total, Miguel Lopez spent 10 days incarcerated at Golden State Annex, an experience he said was challenging.
“We used to be free, not to be locked up, so it’s kind of hard,” Miguel Lopez said of his time in custody. “Especially because you’re always thinking about your family — how they’re doing, what’s happening.”
Upon hearing of his future transfer to an undisclosed location, Miguel Lopez told Rosa Lopez that he would call as soon as he arrived at the next site.
“We thought maybe to San Francisco — they’re probably bringing him home because he still has a case open,” Rosa Lopez recalls thinking.
Instead, Lopez was transported approximately 25 miles south to Bakersfield, where he said he was held for about eight hours and denied access to a phone.
As midnight approached on June 6, officials told him he would be transported to Tijuana.
Back in the States on June 7, U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson granted Miguel Lopez’s motion for a temporary restraining order to stay in the U.S., according to the case file.
At the time, it was noted that Miguel Lopez was “subject to a final order of removal, and he could be deported from the United States at any time”, the file states.
Originally, Miguel Lopez applied for an adjustment of status with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in February 2007, according to the case file. The USCIS denied his application, determining that “he was ineligible because he had made a false claim to U.S. citizenship in attempting to enter the United States years earlier,” the file states.
The Department of Homeland Security then initiated removal proceedings, setting off years of legal disputes.
On May 8, Miguel Lopez filed an instant action against U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Lopez asserts violation of the Administrative Procedures Act, violation of his right to due process under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, injunctive relief and relief under the Declaratory Judgment Act.
Based on the June 7 decision, Miguel could not be removed from the U.S. “until the merits of (his) forthcoming motion for a preliminary injunction is resolved”.
But the ruling was too late. By that morning, Miguel Lopez was already in Tijuana, Mexico, his wife said.
“We were told it was going to be violent criminals — that’s who the president was going to focus on. That’s not who he’s focused on,” Rep. Eric Swalwell said during a video posted on his social media account June 12. “We have the case of Miguel Lopez in our community, who’s been wrongfully removed.”
After switching hands to immigration officials in Mexico, Miguel Lopez discovered that his passport was missing.
Once again, he was denied any phone calls, he said. But during a bathroom break, he was able to call his wife on his personal phone.
Rosa Lopez later flew to Mexico with their youngest son, bringing clothes and Miguel Lopez’s Mexican birth certificate, she said.
Since reuniting, the two make daily calls to their daughter and granddaughter in the U.S.
“She asks for her papa everyday,” Rosa Lopez said of their granddaughter. “My daughter would tell her ‘he’s working’, but by this point, she knows he’s not working.”
Currently staying in Mexico City with family-friends, Rosa Lopez said she’s worried about the future.
“We have to find somewhere to go and it’s not easy,” Rosa Lopez said. “I worry about him not having a place to stay”.
The issue is imminent since she will need to accompany their son back to the U.S. for his return to school.
At least one supporter of Miguel Lopez spoke on behalf of the family at Dublin’s “No Kings” rally on Saturday, among the many demonstrations in the Bay Area and nation denouncing President Donald Trump’s administration.
As for Miguel Lopez’s upcoming court date, the husband-wife duo are optimistic that he will be able to return to the place they both call home.
“I’m hoping once they go to court — because he was granted the TRO — we can bring him back to the U.S. to continue fighting his case,” Rosa Lopez said.
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