OH - Anti-deportation protest goes to congressman's office
Updated 2:58 PM; Posted 2:09 PM
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Supporters of Esperanza Pacheco wait outside the Painesville office of U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce on Friday, November 17, 2017 while some of her family members talk to one of the congressman's staffers about her imminent deportation. Joyce was not at the office. (James Ewinger, The Plain Dealer)
By James Ewinger, The Plain Dealer
PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- Advocates for a Painesville woman facing deportation took their fight on Friday to the office of U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, hoping to enlist his help in blocking her ouster.
Veronica Dahlberg, executive director of HOLA Ohio, said at a rally outside of Joyce's Painesville office that Esperanza Pacheco was grabbed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on Tuesday, when she went for what was supposed to be a routine check-in in Brooklyn Heights.
They isolated her, interrogated her for at least 45 minutes and would not allow her lawyer to be present, Dahlberg said.
Elizabeth Ford, Pacheco's lawyer, confirmed by phone Friday that ICE agents would not let her be present during the questioning, and she viewed the denial as illegal.
Now Pacheco is scheduled to board a plane out of the country on Tuesday, Nov. 21.
Dahlberg said Pacheco's supporters intend to file a form I-246 Application for a Stay of Deportation or Removal, even though ICE routinely rejects the application. Ford said ICE marks most of the requests as denied.
Nearly 100 attended the initial outdoor demonstration.
Then most of the people there went to Joyce's second-floor office near the Lake County Courthouse. The 14th District Republican was not there, but several of Pacheco's family members met with a person on Joyce's staff for around 30 minutes, briefing him about the issues.
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