A federal judge in Detroit did not give a ruling on the pending removal of Sanchez-Ronquillo today. By law, that means he cannot yet be deported.
Hundreds of people protested outside the federal courthouse today, hoping to keep Jose Luis Sanchez-Ronquillo from being deported.
Two busloads of Ann Arbor Pioneer High School students came to Detroit to support Sanchez-Ronquillo, his wife and two sons.
Krystie Linton is a teacher at Pioneer, where one of Jose’s sons is currently a student.
She says the students have been taught to fight for the common good.
“The common good includes the good of our neighbors, our community, our family members and our students,” Linton said. “So this is us doing what we think advances the common good and what’s good for all of humanity.”
Charlie Sanchez-Ronquillo, the youngest son of Jose, is a ten-year-old student at Bach Elementary School in Ann Arbor. He just wants his dad back home.
“I want to tell him that I love him and he should be able to come home,” he said.
Sanchez-Ronquillo is currently being detained in El Paso,Texas according to his attorney, Shanta Driver.
Driver, who also is the national spokesperson for the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary, says she will try to appeal the order of removal with to the Sixth U.S. Court of Appeals.
“We’ve already filed one emergency motion, we’re going to file one now for his children. They’re American citizens, they have 14th Amendment rights to be able to enjoy the company of their family,” Driver said.
Despite being pessimistic about the likelihood that her client will be treated fairly by the courts going forward, Driver was encouraged by the number of supporters who were in Detroit today.
In a statement before the hearing, Driver took time to criticize the entire situation Sanchez-Ronquillo is in as a byproduct of President Donald Trump’s actions.
“The movement to stop Jose Luis’ deportation is a test case of the movement’s strength to stop the Trump regime’s racial purge in attempting to force any and all Latino immigrants out of the country, without regard to whether it is fair or reasonable or humane,” she said.
There is currently no timetable for when the judge’s ruling might be decided or when Sanchez-Ronquillo and his family will know of the outcome.
