Livermore Man Deported Hours Before Judge Orders He Stay: Reports

LIVERMORE, CA — Livermore father and grandfather Miguel Lopez, 46, was deported by ICE officials just hours before a judge issued an order to stop his deportation, according to a report from the Bay Area News Group.

Lopez, who has lived with his family in Livermore for the past 27 years, came to the US when he was 18 with his parents. He has been trying to attain U.S. citizenship since then, though these efforts were complicated by a DUI conviction.

On May 27, Lopez was detained at the ICE offices in San Francisco as he was attending a routine check-in, one of at least eight others. While he was being held at several detention centers throughout California, hundreds rallied in Livermore for his release, including his wife and children.

On Saturday, June 7, Lopez was deported to Tijuana without his passport or other necessary documentation to prove his citizenship, according to a report in The San Francisco Chronicle. The move came just hours before U.S. District Court Trina Thompson ordered federal authorities to keep Lopez in the country, according to reports.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement did not answer numerous outlets’ requests for comment.

His wife Rosa flew to Mexico the day after his deportation to be with him. His family is now working with lawyers to find a way to bring him back to the U.S., where he worked as a welder and machinist for Wente Vineyards, and served as the family’s primary earner.

“I cry every day, every night before I go to bed,” Rosa told The Chronicle. “It’s just hard. I asked him, ‘Do you see yourself living here?’ and he’s like, ‘No, my home is back in California.’”

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