Ohio family pleads for better treatment of mother detained in ICE facility
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Three months into his mother's detention by ICE, Ashland County resident Nathan Coblentz said his family is running out of options.
'She's trying her best to be strong, but it's messing with her mentally pretty good,' he said.
Coblentz, of Perrysville, said despite her green card, his mother, Cleusimar DeLima Coblentz, was detained by ICE in Miami on Feb. 22 and has since been held in poor conditions and has had limited contact with her attorney.
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Nathan said Cleusimar was born in Brazil and has returned to visit at least once a year since moving to Jeromesville, Ohio, in 1991, seeking a better life with her husband, a U.S. citizen. She has worked the night shift at Troyer's Home Pantry in Apple Creek for more than 20 years.
'Friends and family love her,' he said. 'She's a hard worker. Loves working at the bakery and loves working outside in the garden, flower beds and obviously hanging out with grandkids.'
Cleusimar Coblentz, 55, had two petty theft charges under $500 around the time court records show she and her husband went to bankruptcy court. In both cases, she pleaded no contest. She served both penalties, and the cases are closed.
These 15-year-old charges were never an issue until February. Nathan said that last fall, she renewed her green card as she always had, making two trips abroad since then. Returning in February, she was detained because of those two charges, which led to immigration officials classifying her as an 'arriving alien' rather than a lawful returning resident.
NBC4 consulted with two local immigration attorneys, Aleksandar Cuic and David Dawson, both of whom said having two charges at any time could qualify someone for deportation and would make them ineligible for bond, like Cleusimar.
'There are certain limited exceptions and defenses, but somebody with two even relatively minor theft offenses on their record should certainly be concerned that they could end up in deportation proceedings, especially if they're returning from abroad or even if they're considering renewing their green card or applying for citizenship,' Dawson said.
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Nathan Coblentz said he has reached out to President Donald Trump, Gov. Mike DeWine and Rep. Jim Jordan, but only a staffer from Jordan's office responded. Coblentz said the family is not asking to be moved up or for any special treatment, but said they are hoping for better treatment at the detention facility or at least better communication.
'If there was an issue on her green card, a simple letter sent to her as soon as she renewed her green card to tell her, 'Hey, look, you shouldn't leave the country,' that would have been fairly easy, I would think,' Nathan said. 'She left November and came back, no problem. But then she left in December, came back in February, and then it was a problem.'
In the past three months, Cleusimar has been held at four detention centers, including her current stay in Laredo, Texas. Cleusimar has been there since late March and shares a room with 60 other women, with beds 'scattered' about the space. Nathan said the bathrooms are open with half-walls for privacy, and his mom said it's always cold and loud.
'From the first couple days when she was calling, she said, 'The stuff you hear about immigration with detention centers and you don't believe it.' She said, 'It is true. It's horrible,'' Nathan said.
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Cleusimar told him guards come in two or three times per day and yell for detainees to organize to be counted, and she said constant commotion makes it difficult to sleep. ICE has not responded to NBC4's inquiry about Coblentz' case as of publication.
The family has been waiting for an Ohio Immigration Court hearing date for weeks, but has received no updates, and the family was told she cannot be tried in Texas. Nathan said he's flown down several times as she gets a half hour per day three days a week for visitation.
He said even a phone call is difficult. At a previous facility, the family sent money and she could call any number. Now, she is only able to phone people who download an app and load money into it.
'The lawyer hasn't been able to talk to her in there,' Coblentz said. 'We've been doing like a three-way phone call because the lawyers had trouble contacting that facility.'
Coblentz said the family lawyer's calls went unanswered and unreturned, finally connecting with someone in the detention center in the past two weeks. As an attorney, he is only able to meet in person through a scheduled visit. However, Coblentz said it is hard to connect with the right people to schedule a visit.
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Nathan said they have one more bond hearing on Thursday, after which they may choose self-deportation, a voluntary departure that would remove her green card status. According to the Department of Homeland Security, self-deportation is a 'dignified way' to leave the U.S. for immigrants who are here illegally. However, Cleusimar has her paperwork, and Nathan said this was never how she wanted to return to Brazil.
Nathan said the process has been expensive and difficult for the family, especially his father, who would also move to Brazil if Cleusimar leaves. He continues to try to lift his mom's spirits and hopes his advocacy can help her or other families in the same situation.
'Better facilities, better treatment in the process of moving from detention center to detention center, and just give everybody a better chance,' Nathan said. 'And I understand they're cracking down so hard right now, so court dates are pushed out, and they have a system they got to go through, but it definitely seems like a broken system.'
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