NEW YORK — Breaking update: UN Local said Monday morning that Javier Castillo Maradiaga was still in Louisiana after the deportation flight he was scheduled to be on was canceled.
PIX11 reached out to ICE for a statement but had not heard back as of this update.
Original story:
A 27-year-old man has been told he’ll be deported Monday, despite a recently announced Biden administration 100-day moratorium on deportations.
Rebecca Press, director of UN Local said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has Javier Castillo Maradiaga scheduled for a Monday morning plane back to Honduras. Castillo Maradiaga is eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
“We should not be as close as we are to the banishment of a beloved son, cousin but here we are,” Press said.
Castillo Maradiaga’s family organized a rally Sunday. His mother, sister and cousin pleaded for their loved one to not be deported.
“We work, we pay taxes and it’s not fair that my brother, but sometimes yours or your mother, father, end up in these cages,” his sister said. “The judicial system failed my brother.”
The 27-year-old man has lived in the country for 20 years. His family lives in the Bronx. He was detained by ICE 14 months ago.
An ICE official told PIX11 that “ICE is in full compliance of President Biden’s moratorium order.”
ICE said Castillo Maradiaga won’t be deported, but his attorneys are still being told his deportation could happen as soon as 2 a.m. Monday.
Newly elected Congressman Ritchie Torres sent a letter to ICE about Castillo Maradiaga. Torres is concerned some in ICE may have gone rogue and may be ignoring President Biden’s order.
“ICE is intent of deporting him in clear violation of President Biden’s moratorium order,” Torres said. “Even though Joe Biden is the president, I worry ICE is more loyal to Donald Trump than Joe Biden.”
