Immigrant Pizza Man To Be Freed From ICE Custody, Judge Orders

NEW YORK, NY — The pizza deliveryman that immigration authorities arrested in Brooklyn nearly two months ago will be freed from jail under a judge's Tuesday evening ruling. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty ordered Pablo Villavicencio freed immediately from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and put a stay on his deportation while he seeks legal permanent residency in the U.S.

Crotty expressed skepticism from the bench Tuesday morning that federal authorities needed to keep Villavicencio locked away from his wife and two children. Villavicencio's deportation would "contravene" his right to complete the established process of gaining legal status, Crotty ruled.

"Although he stayed in the United States unlawfully and is currently subject to a final order of removal, he has otherwise been a model citizen," Crotty's order says.

"He now has two children, both of whom are United States citizens," the order says. "He has no criminal history. He has paid his taxes. And he has worked diligently to provide for his family."

ICE arrested Villavicencio on June 1 while he was on a pizza delivery to Fort Hamilton Army Base in Bay Ridge and planned to deport him to Ecuador. He's been jailed at Hudson County Correctional Facility in New Jersey.

Crotty ruled that New York was the proper venue for the case, contrary to the federal government's argument that it should be heard in New Jersey because Villavicencio was detained there.

ICE has said Villavicencio was a "fugitive" who was subject to removal because he failed to leave the country voluntarily in 2010 as he was ordered to.

But he had started on the road to legal status in February, just a few months before his arrest. His U.S. citizen wife, Sandra Chica, filed a petition that month asking the government to recognize him as her spouse, the first of three forms needed in the process he's following, according to Crotty's order.

Villavicencio's freedom will mean he can finally reunite with Chica and their two young daughters, Luciana and Antonia. He missed a wedding anniversary and the birthday of one of the girls while he was locked up.

The Legal Aid Society, which has represented Villavicencio, praised Crotty's decision.

"The rule of law, humanity and morality prevailed tonight with the Court’s order releasing Pablo back to his family and community," Adriene Holder, the attorney-in-charge of the civil practice at Legal Aid, said in a statement. "This decision should serve as a rebuke against the Trump Administration and its merciless crusade to tear families apart."

Villavicencio was reportedly freed from jail Tuesday night and greeted by his wife and daughters. In a statement Wednesday evening, ICE spokeswoman Rachael Yong Yow said he was placed on an "order of supervision" and noted that he's still subject to a final order of removal from 2010.

"It should be noted that Mr. Villavicencio chose to enter the United States illegally, which is a crime," Yong Yow said.

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