Hundreds Rally For Release Of Livermore Resident Detained By ICE: Reports

LIVERMORE, CA — Hundreds rallied in Livermore Wednesday night to demand the release of Miguel Ángel López Luvian, an undocumented worker detained by ICE while he was attending his immigration hearing in San Francisco. Lopez was detained with at least 8-12 others at immigration offices in San Francisco and Concord.

Lopez was brought to the U.S. by his parents from Mexico City when he was 18, his wife Rosa told CBS News and Pleasanton Weekly. While Rosa is a U.S. citizen, Miguel has been trying to obtain citizenship for over 20 years. In the meantime, he’s worked as a welder at Wente Winery, and has raised three children with his wife.

“For the past 27 years, Miguel has called Livermore home,” wrote Laura Bertoli, who teaches one of his students and organized a GoFundMe campaign on behalf of the family. The campaign has raised $30,566 out of a $35,000 goal as of Thursday morning.

“He is a familiar face at a local winery, where he has worked diligently for the last nine years,” Bertoli wrote. “A married man, Miguel is the loving patriarch and the main provider for his family, including his children and grandchildren. He is a tax-paying resident who deeply loves and contributes to our Livermore community. For years, Miguel has been working tirelessly with a lawyer, pursuing the path towards U.S. citizenship, demonstrating his commitment to legally establishing his life here.”

Lopez has one DUI conviction, which has complicated his citizenship efforts, Lopez told CBS News. He is currently being held at a detention center in McFarland, California, near Bakersfield, according to ICE’s detainee locator system. Organizers say there is a good chance he might be deported, which would devastate his family emotionally and financially.

"We’ve been fighting this for so many years, we’ve spent so much money. We’ve gone everywhere we had to," Rosa Lopez told NBC Bay Area. And then all of a sudden, he’s gone. Miguel needs to come home, this is where he belongs, he’s been here most of his life.”

Indivisible Tri-Valley, the progressive group that organized a number of local protests against ICE and the Trump administration, said that it has contacted Livermore Mayor John Marchand, the Livermore City Council, Alameda County Supervisor David Haubert, and Reps. Eric Swalwell and Mark DeSaulnier.

Livermore spokesperson Stephanie Egidio told Patch that while this is a federal matter, the city has been in communication with the family and connected them with several resources, including legal assistance.

Lopez’s sons have written letters asking for his release, and his daughter Stephanie spoke at Wednesday’s rally at Livermorium Plaza. Stephanie said that despite video chatting with her father daily, she fears for his safety. “I miss everything about him,” she said. “He shows that he’s OK, but I’m sure deep down inside, he’s heartbroken. He wants to be home with his family as much as we want him home with us.”

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