‘Ripping apart families': Livermore father among those ICE detained at S.F. immigration court

San Francisco Chronicle​

3 days ago

Miguel Angel Lopez, a father of three and grandfather of one, never expressed fear to his wife before reporting to a regular appointment at the San Francisco Immigration Court last week.
'He's the type of guy, if he's worried about something, he'll try not to show it much,' his wife, Rosa Lopez, said.
It was only later — after Miguel was among four immigrants taken by ICE from the courthouse — that Rosa heard that her husband had told a friend he had feared immigration officials could take him.
Miguel and others who showed up to immigration court appointments in San Francisco and Concord on May 27 were arrested by federal immigration officers, advocates said, who called the actions 'illegal and immoral.'
The arrests marked a first in taking immigrants into custody who were actively and legally attending immigration court, advocates, who vowed to fight the detentions, said.
Miguel's detention comes amid ramped up efforts by the Trump administration to deport undocumented immigrants living in the United States. ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have said they would focus on deporting undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records, but advocates say many being detained have no criminal backgrounds and are actively pursuing legal status or asylum.
Trump and immigration officials have faced criticism for expedited deportations, including that of a Maryland man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador but has not been returned despite court orders to do so.
Miguel, 46, who moved to the U.S. from Mexico when he was 18, has been working at a local Livermore winery for nine years, doing maintenance on machinery used during the grape harvest and wine-making process, Rosa said.
Miguel has lived in Livermore for 27 years, his wife said. She said they were married in 2001 and she immediately filed paperwork for Miguel to obtain permanent residency, a necessary step before pursuing citizenship.
But after 24 years, Miguel and his wife were still working through various courts and legal actions to secure his immigration status, Rosa said. Rosa and the rest of their family are American citizens, she said.
After Miguel was detained on March 27, he called Rosa, who was waiting in the car outside, to tell her to call his attorney, Rosa said. She later got a call from him in the evening, saying that he would be moved to a detention center three hours away.
The next afternoon, Rosa said, Miguel called her from the Golden State Annex detention center, privately run by the GEO Group, in McFarland (Kern County). When she visited Miguel days later with two of their kids and their 3-year-old granddaughter, he still did not know why he had been detained after 17 years of going to appointments at immigration court, Rosa said.
'It's been hard. We've never been separated. It's been very difficult, especially for my oldest because he's very close to his dad; he's the one that is having a hard time,' Rosa said. 'I don't even have words to explain.'
Rosa said she plans to move Miguel's work truck from where it is parked in front of their home because it is too painful for her to see everyday.
When teachers at Livermore's Granada High School — where Miguel and Rosa's youngest son was finishing his junior year — found out about Miguel's detention, Rosa said, they became her 'biggest angels' in dealing with the situation.
Rosa was concerned that her son, a 17-year-old player on the football team, would have a hard time finishing finals in the last couple days of the school year with his father gone, she said.
Laura Bertoli Brown and Betsy Wilson organized with the Livermore chapter of Indivisible to bring Miguel's case to the attention of local officials, Brown said. She started a GoFundMe for the Lopez family's 'daunting and incredibly expensive' legal battle, Brown wrote.
'It became this pit in my gut,' Brown said.
Wilson organized a protest at the Livermorium Plaza on Wednesday evening, calling for Miguel's release, Brown said, and people have been reaching out with advice on Facebook and donating to the GoFundMe, which had more than $26,000 as of Wednesday evening.
Brown said students at Granada High School are among those who have organized to support the Lopez family.
'This goes to show what a strong community Livermore is and also just what a good man Miguel is,' Brown said. 'People are like, 'What? No. You have the wrong guy.''
Now, with Miguel facing indefinite detention, Rosa is not sure if he'll keep his job, she said. Miguel has a social security number and previously had work authorization, Rosa said, but it expired during the pandemic, which has been part of the legal battle they are in.
Miguel has been the sole financial support for his family since Rosa stopped working to care for her sister, who had cancer, in 2008, his wife said. Miguel and Rosa later took in their nieces, who were 9 and 11, after Rosa's sister died and Miguel worked long hours to provide for the family of seven.
'Miguel became the father figure to those two girls and took responsibility over two girls that weren't his,' Rosa said. 'He always allowed me to stay home and help my family. And it's been his family too for a long time now.'
Brown said that people who expected ICE to target criminals should see that Miguel's detention was something else.
'This is not that,' she said. 'You're ripping apart families, good men and women who are paying taxes.'
Brown said Miguel's lawyer has said his case is looking more like a deportation case, which she said his family and advocates in Livermore would fight.
'I'm praying to God that doesn't happen,' Rosa said. 'We'll keep trying.'