Pols Urge Judge To Halt Queens Cabbie's Deportation

NEW YORK, NY — An immigration judge was urged to halt the imminent deportation of a detained Queens taxi drivers in letters written by two New York City lawmakers this week. In separate messages, Councilmen Francisco Moya (D-Queens) and Carlos Menchaca (D-Brooklyn) pleaded with Judge Mirlande Tadal to let Edisson Barros stay in the country so the Maspeth father of two can have a chance at gaining legal status in the U.S.

"Mr. Barros is an asset to this community, to this city, to this country," Moya wrote. "His deportation will not Make America Great Again. It will make us weaker."

Barros got caught in the Trump administration's immigration dragnet when Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested him at a Queens courthouse July 16. He's jailed at Hudson County Correctional Facility in New Jersey and is set to be deported Friday, his supporters say.

Menchaca likened the case to that of Pablo Villavicencio, Barros' onetime cellmate whom ICE arrested at a Brooklyn Army base in June. A federal judge ordered his release last month.

One of Barros' U.S. citizen daughters has filed a petition to set him on the path to a green card, Menchaca wrote, as Villavicencio's wife did for him. There are also two pending court motions to stay his deportation and reopen his case, according to Moya's office.

Those legal processes should be allowed to play out before Barros is sent even further away from his two daughters, who depend on him emotionally and financially, the councilmen argued.

"As was the case for Mr. Villavicencio, Mr. Barros deserves the opportunity to pursue this pathway at home and fight his deportation freely with the support of his family," wrote Menchaca, who chairs the Council's immigration committee.

Asked about the letters, an ICE spokeswoman said she could not comment.

Paola Barros, 21, said she and her sister, Eileen, encouraged their dad to stay strong on a phone call Thursday morning. But the family is "desperate" as the clock ticks down to his scheduled deportation, she said.

"One day I had my father with me and now I’m going to lose him," she said.

Moya called Barros, a taxi driver of 23 years, a "dedicated family man" who poses no threat to the nation and "embodies the best attributes America values in its people." He first came to the U.S. in 1994 and later got a work permit, a family spokesman has said.

Supporters say his May arrest stemming from a dispute with a disgruntled driver ultimately put him on the radar of ICE, which has said Barros was "previously removed" and is now subject to deportation under a final order of removal from 2003.

Menchaca argued Tadal should release Barros from the Hudson County Correctional Facility, a jail "notorious for its inhumane conditions and cruel treatment of detainees." Barros' supporters say he's been denied proper medical care and faced other conditions they call tantamount to torture.

"The City of New York has resources that can help Mr. Barros and his family cope with the trauma of his detention and pursue all his legal options," Menchaca wrote. "But we cannot do this from afar, and certainly not while he is detained and separate from his family."

ICE has said it provides medical care to detainees and is "committed to providing a safe and secure environment for all those in its custody."

Carlos Jesus Calzadilla-Palacio, the spokesman for Barros' family, said the councilmen's support is "pivotal." The case has also gotten attention from the prominent civil-rights activist Shaun King.

"We made it impossible for this case to be ignored," said Calzadilla-Palacio, who is president of the activist group Young Progressives of America.

Moya and Barros' family plan to hold a last-ditch rally for his release outside City Hall on Friday morning. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to support the family through the ordeal.

(Lead image: Edisson Barros is pictured with his younger daughter, Eileen. Photo courtesy of Paola Barros/GoFundMe)