“I haven’t seen my husband for 3 months.”
Raul is a husband and father of four children who has been mercilessly detained by ICE since March 2017. He has lived in the U.S. for over 28 years. Shortly after the termination of its contract with the West County Detention Facility in Richmond, CA, ICE transferred Raul and many others to Colorado. He was transferred without his family or lawyer receiving advance notice and despite the fact that he continues to fight his case in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, located in San Francisco, California.
Here, Raul’s wife, Dianeth, shares their story.
CIYJA is spearheading efforts to free Raul — please sign their petition: https://ciyja.org/freeraul/ More details appear at the end of the article.
Raul and I are both from Guatemala, and that’s where we first met in 2000. We’ve been married for 18 years and have two children together and two from a prior marriage; their ages are 26, 18, 17 and 15.
Raul first came to the U.S. in 1989 and applied for asylum. We came back here in 2003 because we had family problems at home — my parents had difficulty accepting my marriage to Raul at first. My brother and nephews also came to the U.S., but they would threaten Raul. Back in 2007, they provoked a car accident, which led to a fight and Raul was arrested and charged with attacking my nephew with a knife, even though he didn’t, and there was never any evidence of a knife injury. But Raul was arrested, released on bail, and put on probation for two years.
ICE tracked him down. They put him in detention in Yuba City for 40 days. Then they released him with an ankle monitor, which he was forced to wear for five months. After the monitor was removed, he was still subject to check-ins every Tuesday, and once a month, on Fridays, he had to travel to San Francisco to check-in in person.
He missed one of his Friday appointments because he was in jail for 30 days due to a DUI. I called immigration and told them he would not be able to make it, and they told me it was OK, and that he could just plan to come back the next month.
On March 22 of last year Raul was due for his next San Francisco check-in. He felt that something wasn’t right. He acted sad and scared and asked me to stay home that day. But I work in housecleaning services and felt I couldn’t miss work.
Then I got the call — that immigration had detained him when he showed up for his appointment. He was sent to the West County Detention Facility. I felt so bad, because he had wanted me to stay home that day and I didn’t. That morning was the last time I saw him before he went into detention.
We weren’t able to visit Raul for five months. He didn’t know it, but he was supposed to fill out a form and list the people who would visit. After he filed the forms, our children and I started visiting about once a month. If it wasn’t crowded, we could see him for an hour. But when there were a lot of visitors, we might only have a half hour with him.
I didn’t appreciate the way we were treated by the guards when we were there; it was disrespectful, as if they were suspicious of us. One time a guard asked my daughter to take her sweater and wrap it around her waist because they thought her pants were too tight. They also told her to cover up her breasts. I thought it was completely inappropriate that they would make comments like this to my daughter, who was just on the verge of turning 13.
At first, on the way there, the children would be happy that they were going to see their dad. Then, upon leaving, they were almost always on the verge of tears, to the point where our visits became very difficult.
Raul said it was very difficult being in detention. He worked very hard in the kitchen and the guards always yelled at him to hurry up. When he was in the cell, they limited his mobility a lot, and when asked to use the restroom they would scream at him. He had trouble keeping track of time, and once told me that one day in detention felt like 25 days on the outside. He’d call almost every day to ask how our day was, but the calls would last only a couple of minutes. He was always very sad and often crying.
We had a private lawyer, but we were unable to obtain bail, even though we had a compelling case that had reached the Ninth Circuit.
On Saturday, June 23 Raul called me and said he had been transferred — to Colorado. He told me that on the prior Thursday he’d been told to grab his things, that he was getting out of there. He had thought he was going to be set free; he didn’t know he was being sent far away from home.
I used to be able to see my husband once a month. Now, I haven’t seen him for three months, since he was transferred. It’s terribly difficult that he’s so far away. And I can’t afford to visit him there since I am now the sole provider for my family and I can’t afford to take time off from work.
My children are taking it very hard, my youngest daughter in particular. For a year, we had been planning her quinceañera, and when the day arrived her father couldn’t be there. It’s affected her to the point where she has had to see a doctor.
I talk to Raul every two or three days. He is sad, and very desperate. He tells me to do something to get him out, that it is unfair he has been detained for so long. But I am helpless. There is nothing I can do.
Sign the CIYJA petition and demand that ICE release Raul today!
In addition to signing this petition please call Raul’s Deportation Officer Parker Bell and the Supervisory Detention and Deportation Officer, Bret Talbot, to demand Raul’s release:
Parker Bell
Deportation Officer
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Enforcement and Removal Operations
Aurora ICE Processing Center
3130 N. Oakland St.
Aurora, CO 80010
(720) 873–2899, Extension 251
Bret Talbot
Supervisory Detention and Deportation Officer
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
3130 N Oakland St, Aurora, CO 80010
Office (303) 361–0723 x133
Petition Text:
Subject: Support for Raul Lopez (A# 072–670–711) Request to be Reunited with his Family
To Whom It May Concern:
I write in support of Raul Lopez (A# 072–670–711). Raul is a husband and father of four who has been mercilessly detained for over a year. He has been separated from his family since he was detained in March 2017. He has recently been transferred far away from his family to an ICE facility in Colorado, despite the fact that he continues to fight his case in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California. His attorney is located in San Francisco and his family is located in the Bay Area. I demand you release Raul immediately so he can fight his case alongside his community and family. At a minimum, Raul must be returned to California. As the primary source of income for his family. Raul’s absence puts an unnecessary and cruel strain on his family. There is no reason for him to be detained, therefore I ask that you Free Raul today.
