Immigration debate
He broke the law, but family, supporters say he belongs in America
By Greg Drees, Journal correspondent


Amy Mireles shares a light moment with daughters Emily (left), Adriana -- clutching a photo of her father, Marcos -- and Amanda, holding her newborn daughter, Kylee, who has never seen her grandfather. Not pictured is daughter Elizabeth. (Photo by Greg Drees)

SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa -- A restaurant between Okoboji and Spirit Lake bears his name, yet he labors in obscurity in a hamlet in west-central Mexico, separated from his family and their American dream.

Marcos Mireles, who co-owns Marcos Mexican Cuisine with his wife, Amy, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in November 2006 "for violations associated with his immigration status." He was deported to Mexico five months later.

Fifteen months after his arrest, he is still being prevented from reuniting with his wife, four children and a growing business.

Those who know Marcos Mireles say he's a hard-working, respected Mexican immigrant who, from age 15 when he entered the U.S., tried to make a better life for himself and his family.

But Mireles did make a mistake years ago. And it continues to haunt him.

'A stupid mistake'

Arriving in the U.S. in 1987 with a valid passport, Mireles went to Atlanta, Ga., to seek work. Subsequently, at the Office of Immigration, he was convinced to change the birth date on his immigration papers so he could secure employment.

"A stupid mistake," Mireles said. "I was young and foolish and in need of money."

After 10 years of employment, mostly for a chain of Mexican restaurants, Mireles returned to Acalipa, Mexico, to visit his mother. While returning to Atlanta, customs officials discovered the disparity in birth dates between his passport and immigration papers and sent him back to Mexico.

However, higher-ups in the restaurant chain got Mireles back into the U.S., but his re-entry was illegal, Mireles now admits. In order to come back, he claimed U.S. citizenship.

That violation went unnoticed for another decade while Mireles worked his way up the restaurant ladder in Atlanta and then Greenville, Tenn., where he met and wed Amy. Mireles eventually bought stock in the company that employed him. The company transferred the couple in 2000 to run a restaurant in Spencer, Iowa.

Five years later, Marcos and Amy Mireles eyed an opportunity to open their own business. When Marcos Mexican Cuisine opened in May 2006, the Iowa Great Lakes community embraced the enterprise and the business took off.

Patrons complimented not only the fare, but also the convivial personalities of the proprietors. Marcos and Amy became respected in the community and had plans to expand.

Dreams dashed

The couple soon learned, however, they did have at least one enemy. Mireles believes someone went to the authorities with concerns about his immigration status.

On Nov. 28, 2006, ICE officials arrested him.

He was detained for six months while his lawyer, David Brown of Lincoln, Neb., and Amy Mireles negotiated with ICE agents about securing proper documentation. Brown and Amy Mireles contend ICE agents repeatedly said Marcos Mireles would be home by Christmas.

Amy Mireles claimed negotiations with ICE senior special agent Ricardo Rocha to keep Marcos Mireles in the states and to circumvent deportation failed. Amy Mireles said Rocha claimed he could secure an employment authorization for Marcos Mireles and arrange for an "on paper" removal to Mexico and a similar "on paper" readmission to the United States. This seemed to mean Marcos Mireles wouldn't have to leave the country.

This would all be arranged, Rocha explained, in exchange for Marcos Mireles' testimony against alleged undocumented workers he knew in the area, Amy Mireles said.

Brown said he had similar correspondence with Rocha to expedite Mireles' case and also with Michael Kuhn, Rocha's superior and resident agent in charge of ICE at the Department of Homeland Security in Sioux City. Those negotiations failed.

"We had confidence in Rocha," Brown said. "We thought we had a deal, but we learned later Rocha didn't have administrative approval to authorize a deal. It's clear to me Rocha did nothing."

E-mail correspondence between Brown and Rocha in April of 2007, obtained through Brown and Amy Mireles, indicate there was a plan to keep Mireles in the country and secure proper documentation for him. In subsequent e-mails, Rocha began to change his story, telling Brown that Mireles would have to be deported to Mexico to be paroled immediately back into the United States.

But upon Mireles' deportation, none of Rocha's "deals" were implemented.

Rocha declined to comment on the case. Tim Counts from the ICE Office of Public Affairs in Bloomington, Minn., said it was the agency's responsibility to carry out the deportation order.

"The situation Mr. Mireles finds himself in is of his own making," Counts said. "Lying about being a U.S. citizen is a serious crime."

ICE deported Marcos in April 2007. While Brown's frustration for his client and Amy Mireles' angst grow, she continues to operate Marcos Mexican Cuisine and has visited Marcos in Mexico on several occasions.

She has also taken the couple's four children to see him. In the interim, a baby born to daughter Amanda has never seen her grandfather.

"The smaller children awake in the middle of the night and ask when daddy is coming home," Amy Mireles said.



Permanent ban on re-entry

When news of Marco's extradition surfaced in the lakes area, citizens expressed shock. Andre Frigo, a food purveyor and friend, said the deportation has done only harm to the community.

"Marcos is a family man of great character and integrity," Frigo said. "I have admired him as a man of Christianity, a community volunteer and a proud business owner. He deserves to be back with his family and children."

Since being sent to Mexico, Marcos Mireles has been trying to establish credibility with authorities by running a tiny six-seat eatery, La Cazuela (The Cooking Pot), in the village of Jojutla.

"We speak daily by cell phone," Amy Mireles said. "He's just trying to maintain, trying to understand why all this has happened to us."

And his future?

One option is for Marcos Mireles to apply for a nonimmigrant visa. But ICE officials said they would not honor it. That leaves firmly in place a permanent ban on his re-entry into this country.

Brown is seeking alternative solutions, including taking the case to ICE headquarters in Washington, D.C. But in order to be reunited, the more likely scenario is that the family will be forced to move to Mexico or Canada.

"It all boils down to this: A man without a criminal record came into this country 20 years ago with worthy intentions. He worked hard, fell in love with a woman and started a family and grasped the American dream by opening his own business," Brown said. "Now that dream is shattered. That he broke the law is indisputable, but he is not a criminal. There is a difference.

"It speaks immensely for the need of new provisions in our immigration system to review such cases and make it possible for people like Marcos to set the record straight and continue the lives they have built for themselves here."

There is loneliness in Marcos Mireles' voice as he discusses his situation from Mexico.

"I had a dream life there and now it's gone," he said. "All along, I have admitted my mistakes, but I miss my family. I miss my business. Why does it have to be like this?"

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