After four years in the United States, a country he entered seeking greater stability for himself and his family – according to what his wife said -, the former mayor of the state of Mérida Carlos García, faces a legal battle on North American soil to avoid his deportation.
According to what María Gabriela Duarte (wife) said, and reported by the media, the couple went to the offices of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) on January 23 for one of their regular immigration control appointments.
That day, without further explanation, García was arrested and transferred to a Butler County detention center, in Hamilton, Ohio, where the family resides.
María Gabriela Duarte indicated that, as she did every three months, she attended the appointment with her husband and they had never had a problem. On this occasion, the situation they faced was different. She had to return home without her husband.
His lawyers filed a habeas corpus before the immigration court to reverse the measure, however, on February 10 they were notified that the Department of Homeland Security is requesting his deportation to Ecuador.
Carlos García served as mayor of the Libertador municipality, in the state of Mérida, during the period 2013-2017 for the Primero Justicia party. That last year, he made the decision to leave the country and settle in Cúcuta, Colombia, where they stayed for several years before heading to the United States.
A reality that migrants face
Like thousands of migrants, García entered the United States illegally in 2022. After a brief process he was released and since then he had been regularly completing his immigration control appointments.
“When he called me from prison he told me, ‘we never imagined we were going to go through all this,’ because we fled Venezuela so he wouldn’t be detained, seeking protection and they detained him here in this country,” said his wife.
Marc Prokosch, García’s lawyer, said that his client “has met all the legal requirements to request asylum in this country.”
On the day of his arrest – his wife says – the ICE agents did not give him any explanation as to the reason for this measure. They put him in a room, handcuffed him and took him away. “They didn’t tell me anything, they just took him away,” he stressed.
Revocation of TPS
This week, an appeals court in the US opened the possibility that the Government can carry out deportations of people who have Temporary Protected States (TPS). A permit that allows migrants to reside and work in US territory.
Trump has revoked these permits granted during Joe Biden’s term. Period in which the former Venezuelan mayor entered the United States.
According to figures provided by the government, some 600,000 Venezuelans may be subject to this measure.
