Undocumented immigrant families hope to appeal deportation orders
Vigil held at federal building in Manchester
Vigil held at federal building in Manchester
Vigil held at federal building in Manchester
Fears are hitting home for some New Hampshire families facing deportation as they hope that their appeals will be heard.
A prayer vigil was held Friday at the federal building in Manchester in an effort to put pressure on officials and show support for immigrant families facing deportation.
"I'm the only one who works at the moment, so if I really have to go, it's going to be a big mess," said Wellington Rocha, who moved from Brazil in 2003.
Rocha said he was told at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement meeting in August that he must return Friday with a plane ticket to leave the country. His family headed into the meeting afraid.
"I don't want to go to welfare now that I have been here for 19 years and ask for money," said his wife, Luciana Rocha. "And I am going to lose my house. We just bought a house."
At the meeting, the Rochas learned they must return in four weeks. They said they hope their appeal is heard in time.
"Pray for a miracle," Luciana Rocha said. "That's all we have left."
Three Seacoast Indonesian families also had meetings Friday. They said they fled persecution years ago but missed the filing deadline for asylum. They have been under ICE supervision since. They have been working and paying taxes and have no criminal records.
They said their cases stopped moving forward under the new presidential administration. One of the families, from Somersworth, said they were relieved to get a seven-month extension.
ICE spokesman Shawn Neudauer said that the agency is following directives from President Donald Trump.
"As the president's executive orders make clear, ICE will no longer exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement," he said in a written statement.
"ICE knows exactly where they live," said Maggie Fogarty of the American Friends Service Committee. "They have their passports. They have their biometric data. So when the administration wants to initiate mass removals, who are the easiest people to pick up?"
The fear among the immigrant community is that the regular check-in coming up next Tuesday could mean that more will be getting deportation orders.