Evacuee faces deportation
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Evacuee faces deportation
Migrant denies plans to leave city
Louie Gilot
El Paso Times
An undocumented immigrant displaced by Hurricane Katrina and scheduled for a deportation hearing in El Paso denies that he voluntarily turned himself over to authorities, his lawyer said Wednesday.
Officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement had said that the man and two other undocumented immigrants who were given shelter at the Judson F. Williams Convention Center wanted to travel out of El Paso by bus and were afraid of being found out at the Border Patrol checkpoints. ICE officials said the migrants scheduled an appointment at the ICE offices to discuss their situation.
The man's lawyer told a different story.
"He was laying on his cot (in the convention center) and his name was called out. He went to the man with the bullhorn and was met by ICE agents," said Ouisa Davis, executive director of the Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services. "He had no idea what was going on. He was scared to death. He didn't seek their help, and he didn't have any plans to travel."
ICE spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa said the agency stands by its original statement.
Davis said the man was still in El Paso, living with other evacuees who took him under their wing.
It wasn't clear Wednesday how government officials learned of the man's immigration status.
The three El Paso evacuees were given dates to appear in court for deportation hearings.
After Katrina, the Homeland Security Department encouraged all storm victims, including undocumented immigrants, to seek help. The appeal was made in English and Spanish.
