Jose Luis Garcia was in his front yard in Arleta drinking coffee like he did on any other Sunday morning. But the silence of a peaceful weekend was quickly turned into a nightmare when out of the blue, ICE agents showed up at his home and placed him in handcuffs.
Seeing ICE agents at their home didn’t make sense to Garcia or his daughter Natalie who asked agents if they had a warrant.
After all, Garcia 63, was granted legal status years ago under the Immigration Reform and Control Act during the Reagan administration. He has been living in this country since he was 13 years old, nearly 50 years ago.
“They didn’t have a warrant, they said they were picking up my Dad not for a criminal offense, it was administrative,” his daughter said.
Garcia had a domestic violence dispute back in 2001 and entered a no contest plea and he and his family thought the case was closed. Up to last week, when ICE agents appeared, he had worked at the same job for more than 35 years and most recently started to drive for Uber to pick up extra money for the family.
Garcia’s family is questioning the rationale for ICE to target him and why an old offense that was previously settled is being used by ICE now.
They’ve contacted an immigration attorney and the ACLU and have started an online petition asking people to sign to call for his release. Garcia is currently being detained at the Theo Lacy Facility in Orange, California and is scheduled for a bond hearing on June 29, 2018 at 1:00 p.m.in downtown Los Angeles.
“He’s a taxpayer. He’s a homeowner. He’s been a homeowner. He’s been the sole provider for our family,” said Natalie.
The online petition can be found at: https://action.mijente.net/petitions/release-jose-garcia-from-ice-custody