Posted on 03/23/2017 3:47:20 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
A Mexican man who entered the United States illegally almost 20 years ago is set to be deported on Friday, amid an uptick in detentions by immigration agents emboldened by President Donald Trump — whom the man’s own wife voted for.
Roberto Beristain, 43, has been in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers since he was detained on Feb. 6 in Indianapolis, department spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa told BuzzFeed News.
The Mexican national, who owns a steak restaurant in the Indiana town of Granger, arrived in the country in 1998 before being detained two years later and ordered to leave.
It was during a trip to Niagara Falls in 2000, with his wife, Helen, and stepson, Phil Kolliopoulos, Beristain was arrested when the family inadvertently took a wrong turn and arrived at the Canadian border, Kolliopoulos wrote online.
After hiring a lawyer and posting $1,500 in bail, Beristain was released on a voluntary self-deportation order, giving him 60 days to leave the country.
“With Roberto expecting his first child soon, this was not an option for him to leave,” Kolliopoulos wrote. “He believed to be the supportive and loving husband and father he was made to be.”
When the 60 days was up, the voluntary departure order reverted to a final order of removal, said Zamarripa, the ICE spokeswoman. But for many years no action was taken.
Instead, Beristain was able to obtain a driver’s license, social security card, and work permit, according to Kolliopoulos. Beristain also checked in each year with ICE agents as part of his work permit, the South Bend Tribune reported.
It was during his annual check in with agents in Indianapolis in February that he was suddenly arrested, becoming one of hundreds of undocumented immigrants detained since President Trump took office.
“They came outside, knocked on the window,” Helen Beristain told Indiana Public Media earlier this month. “They said, ‘Are you Roberto’s wife?’ And, I said ‘Yes.’ And, they said, ‘Well, your husband is being detained because of a deportation [order]16 and a half years ago.’ And, I said, ‘That’s a joke.’ And, they said, ‘No, it’s true.’”
Zamarripa said Beristain remains in ICE custody pending his removal to Mexico. “For operational security reasons, ICE does not release information regarding upcoming removals,” she said.
But Adam Ansari, a Chicago lawyer representing the family, said Beristain was set to leave the country on Friday.
“Right now, he’s set to be deported tomorrow,” Ansari said.
Helen Beristain told Indiana Public Media she voted for President Trump believing that only “killers” and cartel members would be deported.
“We don’t want to have cartels here, you don’t want to have drugs in your high schools, you don’t want killers next to you,” she said. “You want to feel safe when you leave your house. I truly believe that. And, this is why I voted for Mr. Trump.”
Pete Buttigieg, the Democratic mayor of South Bend, wrote in the Huffington Post that “the favorite themes of conservatism” were at stake in Beristain’s case.
“Hard work, small business ownership, suspicion of overbearing government, and support for family. Each one of those themes is at stake here—and each is insulted by the prospect of a person like Roberto being ripped away from his business, friends, wife, and children, by a federal agency,” he wrote.
Under Obama-era directives, ICE focused mainly on criminals and those who posed a threat to public safety. But since Trump signed an executive order in January on immigration, ICE agents have been detaining hundreds of undocumented immigrants, including those not charged with any crimes.
“This executive order is ripping families apart,” said Ansari, the attorney.
Ansari said that if Beristain is deported tomorrow the family will petition for him to get on a waiver program so he can return to the US legally. A 2007 green card application, based on his marriage to Helen (a US citizen), is still pending, Ansari added.
“They’re distraught,” he said of the family, adding they did not wish to speak to media on Thursday. “They have lost a husband, a father, a main breadwinner.”
Helen Beristain indicated to Indiana Public Media she felt misled by the president’s plans.
“[Trump] did say the good people would not be deported, the good people would be checked,” Helen Beristain said.
I’ll bet it turns out she was a registered democrat.
“ICE agents have been detaining hundreds of undocumented immigrants, including those not charged with any crimes.”
==
The “undocumented immigrants” *are criminals* by just being here and the punishment for the crime *is* deportation.
Thanks for sharing such a nice feel good story!
No,not misled...the problem is he expressed his plans in English,our national tongue.And Helen...I,a native English speaker,understood his plans perfectly.That's why you're surprised and I'm not!
You can go to Mexico.
A big NO on the rest.
Remember the Buzzfeed article about the Obama voter who wasn’t allowed to keep her doctor or her current insurance plan?
Yeah, me neither.
He’s been here 20 years. Why didn’t he do anything about his illegal status before now? Especially after being arrested back in 2000. He skated all those years, and now they’re crying because he’s got to go back to Mexico. No sympathy here.
Just about all illegals are Felons!
been here 20 years and never bothered to go thru the effort to become legal. . . .
I wonder who he voted for. He had a SS# drivers license, you know he probably voted illegally too. If you don’t enforce your immigration law, they won’t respect any law
“Helen Beristain indicated to Indiana Public Media she felt misled by the president’s plans. “
Somehow, I doubt that.
“including those not charged with any crimes.”
Being here illegally is a crime all by itself
Oh, stop, I am going to cry about this poor family being victimized by all of the bad old meanies who think that laws and national sovereignty mean something.
If you would knowingly marry a criminal then you are aware or should make yourself so of the possible liabilities that attend such a match.
http://www.bravotv.com/below-deck/blogs/barack-obama-island-vacation-south-pacific-the-brando
I'd guess Hillary. I wonder whose ID he was using? I'd guess some poor victim who found out when he applied for credit and found out his credit sucked when it hadn't before.
I’m confused. If I break the law and get caught I expect to go to jail or prison unless by some miracle I get probation.
This person, as good a father and husband as he may be, broke the law and finally got caught so now he’s getting deported. Being deported sounds a heckuva lot better than prison to me. After all, he’s going home, not some strange country where he doesn’t know the language or anything. You can bet he has lots of relatives there. Is there something stopping him from having his wife sell the business then move them down to wherever he is to open a business there?
Maybe I missed something but I’m not seeing a problem here. We are all dealt a bushel of lemons sometimes. Most of us know to make lemonade when that happens; the sweeter the better. The husband has all this great business knowledge he learned in the USA that he can now use in Mexico or wherever. He could be a millionaire in just a few years. Nope; not seeing the problem.
My father was in the military so I grew up out of the country A LOT so I have no sympathy for the kids having to relocate and finish k-12 via homeschooling.
Seriously! They could have hired an immigration lawyer and gotten him residency at the very least. They especially needed to to that for their child, but now they’ve let him down. Sorry but they have no one to blame but themselves.
Ah, he left her a restaurant so they’ll be fine.
if they want, they can sell it and move with him.
I applaud the guy for building a restaurant business, but there’s no law that says “illegal immigrants who own a successful restaurant do not have to leave” :)
Maybe this is what she secretly hoped for.
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