Thomas MacMillan Photos
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy.
(Updated) With immigration reform on the horizon, why not let an upstanding New Haven immigrant with no criminal record stay in the country?
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy has made that case in a letter to John Morton, the head of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
In doing so, Murphy lent his name to a top cause of New Haven immigration-reformers looking to stop the deportation of a local man snared in a controversial federal program.
U.S. Rep Rosa DeLauro and U.S. Sen Dick Blumenthal followed up with a similar letter to Morton on Thursday.
All three wrote on behalf of Josemaria Islas (shown in top photo at a protest on his behalf), a New Havener who was arrested in Hamden in 2012 and charged with robbery. After Islas spent five months in jail for a crime he did not commit, a judge reduced and then conditionally dismissed the charges against him. But before Islas could walk free, judicial marshals acted on an ICE detainment request and handed Islas over to the immigration enforcement agency.
An immigration judge subsequently ordered Islas to be deported in just over a week, on April 29.
Islas was delivered to ICE under the agency’s controversial Secure Communities program, which is ostensibly intended to crack down on undocumented immigrants who pose a significant threat to public safety — those with a criminal record, or who are one a terrorist watch list. Local and state officials have decried the program as a ham-handed effort that threatens law-abiding immigrant families and undermines trust between immigrants and police.
Immigrant advocates and immigration reform advocates have taken up Islas’ case, calling on the government to allow stop deportation proceedings against him. Activists have held a number of demonstrations, including one that resulted in four arrests outside Hartford federal court, and a recent sit-in at U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s office.
U.S. Sen. Murphy’s letter to Morton is the most potentially powerful declaration yet on his behalf by a public official. With the addition of DeLauro and Blumenthal’s letter, the full complement of New Haven’s elected representatives in Washington D.C. is now pulling for Islas.
In the letter, Murphy lists some of Islas’ virtues: He’s an “active member of the New Haven community,” a soup kitchen volunteer, and a regular parishioner of a large Catholic church in Fair Haven.
“Once immigration reform is enacted, he may find himself on a path towards a green card and eventual U.S. citizenship,” Murphy writes.
“Given that Congress is actively drafting immigration reform legislation from which Mr. Islas may benefit, and that Mr. Islas has no criminal history in the U.S., is a respected member of the community, has close family members living with him, and has a solid employment history, I respectfully ask that Mr. Islas’ request for discretion in his stay of removal be considered under the full extent of the law.”
“It seems grossly unfair to be deporting individuals today solely on immigration violations, given the possible legal path to residency they could be offered in a few months,” the letter from DeLauro and Blumenthal states. “It would especially be unfortunate to separate families today, when in a few short months they would never need to be separated.”
Both DeLauro and Blumenthal mention that their fathers came to the United States as immigrants pursuing the American Dream.
Asked for comment, ICE spokesman Ross Feinstein released a statement he had previously offered on the subject of Islas’ case:
“Jose Islas-Gonzalez is a priority for removal by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As clearly stated in ICE’s civil immigration enforcement priorities, illegal aliens who commit serious criminal offenses and repeatedly violate immigration law are a priority for the agency.
“Islas-Gonzalez was originally charged with a serious criminal offense of conspiracy to commit robbery. He was subsequently charged with two lesser offenses arising from the same incident and entered Connecticut’s accelerated rehabilitation program. Islas-Gonzalez was also previously removed from the United States on four separate occasions in both August and September 2005. He subsequently entered the United States without permission.
“ICE has adopted common sense policies nationwide that ensure our immigration laws are enforced in a way that best enhances public safety, border security and the integrity of the immigration system. As part of this approach, ICE has adopted clear priorities that call for the agency’s enforcement resources to be focused on the identification and removal of those that have broken criminal laws, recently crossed our border, or repeatedly violated immigration laws.”