Cindy Garcia of Lincoln Park, the wife of a man deported to Mexico Monday, will be the guest of U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Jan. 30.
Garcia is a UAW worker and the wife of Jorge Garcia, a 39-year-old undocumented father of two who was deported to Mexico this week after living in the United States for 30 years.
“This week, America watched in horror as Jorge Garcia, a father of two and husband to an American citizen, who was brought to this country at 10 years old and has never received so much as a traffic ticket, was torn from his family and the only home he knows,” Dingell said.
“The Garcia family’s story is heartbreaking and infuriating. It is both a symptom of a long-broken immigration system and a new rash immigration policy that does not recognize the difference between a hardworking family man and a criminal. This must change.
“Jorge’s wife, Cindy, has shown incredible resilience and courage in the face of these impossible circumstances. I am honored that she will join me at the State of the Union to be a voice for the hundreds of thousands of aspiring Americans who are part of the fabric of our communities, and who deserve a pathway to legal status in the country they call home.
“Now more than ever, we must not lose sight of who we are and the promise of America. It is time for Congress and the President to find the political will to do what is right, not what is convenient, and fulfill this nation’s promise to those who come here seeking a better life and those who call this nation home.”
Dingell said she spoke directly to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials at the Detroit Field Office to obtain an extension for Jorge Garcia, which allowed him to stay in the country through the holidays until Jan. 15. She said she continues to work with the Garcia family to reunite them as quickly as possible.
State Rep. Cara Clemente (D-14th District) said today Cindy Garcia also will be her guest at Gov. Rick Snyder’s State of the State address Jan. 23.
According to published reports, Jorge Garcia was brought to the United States in 1989 by undocumented family members, and worked with immigration officials for years to become a legal resident. An immigration judge ordered Garcia’s deportation in June 2006. He was not detained between then and his deportation Monday.
“As ICE Deputy Director Thomas Homan has made clear, ICE does not exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement,” Detroit ICE spokesman Khaalid Walls said in a statement Tuesday. “All of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States.”
The statement said Garcia “appealed his removal in 2008 to the Board of Immigration Appeals, where it was remanded back to the lower court, which subsequently allowed him to voluntarily depart. After he failed to depart within the timeline of the agreement, he became subject to a final order of removal in 2009.
“ICE exercised prosecutorial discretion on multiple prior occasions in Mr. Garcia-Martinez’s case in 2011, 2012 and 2014. In a further exercise of discretion during the this period, Mr. Garcia-Martinez was never detained.”
“On Jan. 15, Mr. Garcia-Martinez was removed pursuant to the judge’s removal order.”