|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A longtime Livermore resident and father of three continues to see community support for his return to the U.S., following his deportation to Mexico earlier this summer.
Most recently, a few community members gathered last Friday morning along the Santa Rita overpass above I-580 with banners reading, “Bring Home Miguel Lopez” alongside an American flag.
Organized by Livermore Advocates for Public Education, the Sept. 12 display was also intended to bring attention to the broader struggles of families threatened by deportation, LAPE officials said in a statement.
The gathering stands as another public showing of support for Lopez, following a June 4 rally called, “Bring Miguel Home” at the Livermorium Plaza in downtown Livermore.
Prior to his deportation, Lopez had been living in the U.S. for approximately 27 years and was in the process of obtaining legal residency for over a decade, his wife Rosa Lopez told the Pleasanton Weekly in June.
He previously worked at Wente Vineyards in Livermore to support his wife and children, the youngest of whom is currently a senior at Granada High School.
But on May 27, Lopez was detained during a routine immigration check-in in San Francisco and was later deported to Mexico City.
While in Mexico City, he has struggled to find safe and stable work, leaving him unable to support his family in Livermore, according to LAPE.
“Deportations like Miguel’s tear families apart and leave students carrying enormous emotional burdens,” LAPE spokesperson Joanne Morrison said in a statement. “Children in mixed-status families live with constant fear that their parents may not be there when they come home from school. That kind of stress makes it harder to focus, to learn and to thrive in the classroom.”
The Lopez family awaits a court date scheduled Oct. 7, after which Lopez may be allowed to return home.
